Prawn Fishery - Pacific Region

Mandate / Organization / Procedures / Code of Conduct

Prawn Sectoral Committee, Mandate

The Prawn Sectoral Committee provides a forum for the exchange of information and views between stakeholders and Fisheries and Oceans Canada on issues important to the management of the prawn and shrimp trap fisheries. The Sectoral Committee is an advisory body, not a voting body. The department remains the decision making authority on matters pertaining to conservation requirements.

The Sectoral Committee has the following goals.

• Ensure conservation and protection of prawn and shrimp stocks and their habitat through the application of scientific management principles applied in a risk averse and precautionary manner based on the best scientific advice available.

• Allow the exchange of information between stakeholders and the department.

• Advise on the development of long-term management strategies for the fisheries.

• Advise on the development of annual Integrated Management Plans for the fisheries.

• Provide information and advice regarding stock assessment and biological research.

• Advise the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on the use of discretionary penalties against persons who violate the rules and regulations of the fisheries.

• Recommend representatives to other committees or advisory bodies.

Organization

• Committee members will represent the following stakeholders:

In addition to the foregoing, the department  personnel or other persons may attend and may be called upon to provide information to the committee from time to time.

• Licence holder representatives will be selected by a vote conducted by the department  of the licence holders of record. Where an organization is elected to the committee, the organization will provide the name of the representative(s) who will sit at the main table.

• Elected representatives or their sponsoring organizations will provide the name of alternates who may attend and sit at the main table in their absence.

• the department  may appoint additional advisors to ensure representation from all geographic areas and gear groups.

• A seat is provided to the the department  Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy so that operational concerns regarding the management plan and its relevance to First Nations may be brought to the Committee’s attention. Minutes of the meetings and draft management plans will be made available to the AFS staff who may make the plan available to Tribal Councils, Bands or other representative bodies. First Nations representatives are welcome to attend any and all meetings of the sectoral committee, to make presentations on matters in which they have an interest.

• A seat is provided to Recreational fishing interests so that operational concerns regarding the management plan may be brought to the Committee. An open invitation will be provided to the Sports Fish Advisory Board indicating that participation of a representative for information exchange purposes is welcome.

• Advisors will be elected or appointed for a two year term, or longer if mutually agreed upon by the department  and the elected representatives. Licence holders may advise the department  of a change in their representative at any time during the committee’s term. However, this will not result in any change in seat allocations on committee. If an advisor is representing an organization and leaves that organization in mid term, and if there is more than 6 months remaining in the committee’s term, then the organization may designate a new advisor and the previous advisor will no longer sit at the main table.

• The Ministry of Fisheries will represent the Province of B.C. on the Committee.

Procedures

• Minutes of all meetings will be taken. They will be distributed to all advisors for correction, then made available to the public on request.

• The committee will strive for agreement on issues among all advisors. When unanimous agreement cannot be achieved, all consenting and dissenting opinions will be recorded in the minutes and the department  will make the decision on the issue following consideration of the level of support provided.

• the department  retains the right to take independent action on matters which in their view pertain to conservation of the resource.

• All Sectoral Committee meetings can be attended by observers, subject to approval by the chairperson. These persons may observe but shall not participate in the discussions except at the prerogative of the the chairperson. Those persons can ask main table representatives to bring forward points for discussion by the committee.

• the department  will endeavour to refer fishers and other outside parties who offer unsolicited recommendations and advice, to the appropriate committee representatives.

• The chairperson can appoint subcommittees to undertake and report on specific tasks. Those subcommittees report to the chair. Membership and activities are determined by the chair.

• Industry representatives may choose to establish caucus subcommittees. Those subcommittees are responsible to the industry caucus. They are in no way responsible to the PSC chair, nor are they considered to be sectoral committee subcommittees.

• The PSC chair may provide opportunities for industry caucus subcommittees to report on their activities at PSC meetings, if that is in the likely interest of the committee at large.

• There must be at least one meeting a year to consider the annual management plan. The chairperson can call other meetings as required. The chairperson will prepare an agenda and circulate it to all advisors before the meeting.

Code of Conduct

• The Sectoral Committee will consider developing a code of conduct.

• Repeated absence from meetings or convictions under the Fisheries Act will be adequate grounds for dismissal at the Chair’s discretion, following consultation with the Committee.