22 Apr 03 The opening of the commercial prawn fishery will be delayed until Monday 5 May 2003, 1200hrs, at the earliest. The opening date remains tentative until confirmed by variation orders and notices to industry. The delay is to provide sufficient time for commercial vessels to safely deploy to the grounds. Jim Morrison, DFO

09 Apr 03 Report on the 31 March 03 Sectoral Committee Meeting  (not the minutes) Thanks to Tom Orr.   View the report.

27 Mar 03 A draft of minutes of the Sectoral Caucus Meeting of 14 Mar 03. Interesting comments by buyers and a hint of prices this season. View it here.

24 Mar 03 Treaty Negotiations and Fisheries Harvest Agreements What is a harvest agreement? A harvest agreement is a negotiated arrangement that would provide for a First Nation to fish commercially. While it would be negotiated at the same time as a treaty, it is a separate agreement that would not receive constitutional protection.   Read the full document  from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. PDF-185k.

28 Feb 03 The Spot Prawn Fishery - A status Report  'The Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange (APEX) was founded in 1997 to promote innovative and collaborative strategies for advancing sustainable environmental policies and natural resource management systems.'  'The Spot Prawn Project is the platform on which APEX intends to build its marine programs.' Read the full report.    PDF - 548k

28 Feb 03 Prosposed Sewage Regs Transport Canada intends to implement new sewage discharge regulations. Please note these regulations are still being developed and it is still not clear exactly what these regulations will mean. Details are here.

13 Feb 03 The Industry Caucus of the Prawn Sectoral Committee met on February 10th in Nanaimo to review the responses (Comment Sheets) received from licence holders on future management options for the commercial prawn fishery. The Caucus directed the PPFA to post the results on the list serv as well as mail them out to all licence holders. A total of 158 responses were received. One of the 158 responses could not be associated with a specific commercial prawn licence and was not counted. Therefore, there were a total of 157 eligible responses, of which: - Three supported a combination of trap blocks and trap reduction and area licensing - One supported a combination of trap blocks and trap reduction - Twelve supported area licensing - One supported a split season - Forty-six supported the status quo - Ninety-four supported individual quota management The Caucus members will be consulting with their constituents on the results and next steps in this process to consider future management options for the commercial prawn fishery. The Caucus will be meeting in early March to determine the next steps in the process. The Caucus encourages licence holders to discuss future management options and possible next steps amongst themselves and with industry representatives. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact a Caucus member. See the Results of the last meeting and the Record of Decision. Keep in mind that these responses are not a vote. They simply outline the possible directions that we can pursue in future management of the fishery. Prior to changing present management it might be beneficial to first determine what is wrong with the present system. Who and how will we, and the resource, benefit from a change?

Prawn Sectoral Committee Meeting, Pacific Biological Station Seminar Room, Nanaimo, Monday  31 March 03      10:30 The next sectoral committee meeting is scheduled for this time. No agenda items are listed as yet. Let your rep know of your concerns. Recommendations for agenda items may be returned to Jim Morrison: by phone message at (250) 756-7233, or by e-mailto:MorrisonJ@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Do get in your ideas for future management and direction of our resource. The two main thoughts appear to be a form of quota or a system based on input controls as we have today. There has been little public discussion of this subject for over a year now. Has anything changed? Is quota still 'the way to go'? Pros? Cons? Can we survive under the current type of management? Are prawn stocks healthy? The forum is wide open if you wish to post your thoughts. We have new license holders who could benefit from a discussion of management options.

19 Sept 02 Who did not pay? Nine license holders failed to pay co-management fees for 2002. Last year the rest of the fleet made up the difference. This year it is proposed that the deficit be made up through fish funding. Perhaps through some mix up you forgot to pay the fees. You might give a phone call to Chris Sporer, exec. director PPFA, to check on the names of non complying license holders.....604-415-2491.

Prawn Sectoral Committee Meeting, Pacific Biological Station Seminar Room, Nanaimo, Thursday 19 Sept 02      10:30 - 16:00 You are invited to attend the Prawn Sectoral Committee meeting at the Pacific Biological Station, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Sept. 19. This will be the annual post-commercial fishing season review meeting. Fall index survey programs and topics of interest or concern to First Nations and recreational fishers may be discussed. Recommendations for agenda items may be returned to my attention by mail, or by fax to (250) 756-7162, by phone message at (250) 756-7233, or by e-mailto:MorrisonJ@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

22 Aug 02 Updated Safety Regs Transport Canada has backed off their July 30th deadline for the MED A1 to be completed. A new policy statement for this requirement has been issued. PPFA Prawnvoice welcomes Chris Sporer to his position as Executive Director of the Pacific Prawn Fishermen's Association. Chris brings with him a good understanding of prawn and experience with related industries.

10 July 02 North Island Straits Integrated Coastal Plan This coastal plan covers from the bottom end of Johnstone Strait to Cape Caution. For the area in question, it looks at coastal and marine areas for the purposes of determining existing resource uses and habitats and potential conflicts that may arise with marine tenures of various types that are issued by BCAL (including log dumps, booming areas, fish farms and shellfish farms). Plan and maps are at http://srmrpdwww.env.gov.bc.ca/coastal/planning/nis/index.htm. Several maps and large files to download. The public is invited to send comments on the draft plan before July 15, 2002.

24 Apr 02 DFO - Season Update - Official Opening Fishery notices have been issued announcing the commencement date for the commercial prawn and shrimp by trap fishery, noon, 12:00 Wednesday May 1.

19 April 02 Fishery Notice - Fisheries & Oceans Canada Category(s): COMMERCIAL - Invertebrates: Prawn and Shrimp by Trap Subject: FN0204-Invertebrates: Prawn and Shrimp by Trap - 2002 Licence Issuance Prawn and Shrimp by Trap Licences for the 2002 fishery year will be available for issuance 13:00 Tuesday, April 23 at Pacific Fishery Licence Unit offices in Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo. All applicants are reminded: - A confirmation letter from a Service Bureau must accompany all applications for licence issuance; - Logbook approval must be obtained prior to licence issuance. For further information please contact the Shellfish Data Unit at 250-756- 7022; - Where a trap reallocation is requested, the Request For Re- Allocation of Trap Limits for the Shrimp And Prawn By Trap Fishery 2002 Form must be completed and signed by appropriate authorities with legal witnesses. In addition fees and Application for Prawn and Shrimp by Trap Licence 2002 Forms for both the TO and FROM vessels must be submitted at the time of trap reallocation. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Nanaimo:   250-754-0400, Prince Rupert:   250-627-3413 Vancouver:   604-666-0566

17 Apr 02 Season Update DFO issued a 2002  season update  today.

11 April 02 Trap Tags Trap tags for the 2002 prawn by trap fishery are now available from JO Thomas by in-person pickup or delivery by courier. Download the application form. This .pdf file (73k) is printable. Applicable fees, instructions and phone #'s are included.

07 Apr 02 Divebuoys - Consultation Document Fisheries and Oceans Canada is in receipt of a request to close fishing in a 500 metre radius area around certain mooring buoys installed and maintained by a network of diving interests under the umbrella of the Underwater Council of BC. There are 20 sites proposed for closure. Closing these areas to harvest is expected to preserve local fish, and shellfish populations for viewing purposes. It will also increase the safety margin for divers.' Will this have a negative impact for our fishery? Perhaps it might strengthen our position. Your comments are requested and can be posted to the 'Prawn Fishers Forum' on this site. Letters to The Seafood Alliance, PPFA, and DFO are recommended. Time appears to be short.  Download  the divebuoys mooring maps file. 09 Apr 02 Update: DFO has sent a correction that the closure area is 250 metres radius not 500 metres.

03 April 02 PRAWN SECTORAL COMMITTEE AGENDA Date: April 4, 2002, 10:30 - 16:00 Location: Pacific Biological Station 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo View the meeting agenda  here , as posted today.

27 Mar 02 PPFA Annual General Meeting Prawnvoice offers congratulations to the PPFA for all of the associations diligence and hard work over the past couple of years. An overwhelming majority of the prawn fleet voted in 15 directors. View the list here.

23 March 02 The Ladner Traps website is up and running. Check out all the trap sizes and styles available for prawn, crab and black cod. If you have any photos of  'traps in action'  they would be most welcome in the Photo Gallery. If they are digital or scanned you can email to or mail or drop off prints with Kevin in Ladner.

21 Mar 02 Prawn Sectoral Committee Draft Agenda Date: April 4, 2002 Location: Pacific Biological Station 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo Time: 10:30 - 16:00 1. Introductions 2. Winter Rec.fishery Closure Review 3. Closure Requests - Howe Sd., Village Isl. 4. Rockfish Conservation Strategy 5. Commercial Season Preparations Forward recommendations for additional agenda topics to: J. Morrison, Phone (250) 756-7233,    Fax (250) 756-7162, e-mail morrisonj@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

14 March 02 Here are the motions put forth and voted on at yesterdays caucus meeting in Nanaimo.

8 Mar 02 A paper by Christopher Wright and Peter Panek (not sure of pub date.) "This study examines the effect of trap soak-time on size-selectivity, looks at how it translates to by-kill, and reviews the traditional management responses. The management recommendations in this paper focus on optimizing the interaction between CPUE, by-kill, enforcement costs, and fisher responses."   ... here is the  full paper  in .pdf format (124k).

06 Feb 02 Will the lifting of the fish farm moratorium impact our prawn industry? If you wish to express your opinion the following emails should work: ->Premier Gordon Campbell ->John van Dongen, Minister of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries ->Joyce Murray, Minister of Water, Land & Air Protection ->Stan Hagen, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management For more information, go to the David Suzuki Foundation website. A copy of the BC provincial government news release and background information can be found here.

30 Jan 02 DFO released a Summary of the 2001 Prawn Buyer Market Survey. 100% of the buyers that were contacted participated in the market survey. Their assistance in the survey is appreciated. The information that was collected is a useful account of how prawns are being bought and sold in the marketplace....    ...read more.

09 Jan 02 Several media outlets have reported that shrimp and prawns have been found with E. coli bacteria. Follow this link to an article that ran in todays Province newspaper click here . DFO posted a coliform update on the listserve today.  Here  is a reprint. Prawnvoice would like to receive any info, on-topic links or comments relevent to coliforms and our industry.

02 Jan 02 Recreational Prawn Fishery Closures Announced All recreational prawn and shrimp gear must be out of the water in these areas by 11:59 pm January 6, 2002. Prawn spawner index information collected in scientific surveys from November and early December has been reviewed and closures of some recreational prawn and shrimp trap fishery areas have been decided. A total of 8 areas have been tested for spawner index this fall. Six areas have reduced numbers of adult female spawners that warrant protective measures for conservation purposes, for the remainder of the egg bearing period. The full story is  here...read more.

13 Nov 01 The PPFA has been invited to sit with the Treaty Negotiation Advisory Committee (TNAC) to represent prawn fishermen. The following paper is a draft prepared this past Sept. TNAC - FISHERIES COMMITTEE DISCUSSION PAPER - PRAWN HARVEST AGREEMENTS (draft). "As part of the fisheries component of treaty negotiations, First Nations are seeking access to commercial harvesting opportunities. However, many First Nations are not interested in access to regular commercial fisheries. Canada has developed the option of entering into Harvest Agreements (HAs), which will provide harvesting opportunities similar, but not identical, to the regular commercial fishery. One species that is under consideration for possible use in a Harvest Agreement is prawns. Canada is seeking advice on the issues involved in negotiating such a Harvest Agreement. Canada will also seek advice from industry representatives in the appropriate sectors."...Read more here. (Acrobat file 130k)

22 Oct 01 DFO's draft minutes of the Sept Sectoral meeting can be viewed here. This is an Adobe Acrobat pdf file which requires a viewer. Most of you will have the Acrobat Reader on your computer already. If not it is a one time download which you can get by clicking the Acrobat Reader link to the left. The minutes are a 198k download and will print just fine.

22 Oct 01 Sectoral Rep Election results are as follows: 220 ballots were received representing 87% of licence holders:- BC Prawn Fishermens Group 32 Mid Island Prawn Group 16 North Island Prawn Association 38 Pacific Prawn Group 17 Pro Quota Group 33 Powell River Prawn Group 17 Steveston Prawn Group 31 Bill Stefiuk 28 Did you check off the Name/Phone box on the ballot? If not, your rep may not know that he represents you.

18 Oct 01 Thanks to those who offered suggestions for new poll questions. They will be up soon. The last poll indicated (57%) that management of the past season needed improvement. It is time to work on the 2002 season...suggestions? News and info prior to Sept 2001 has been moved. It is now available in the Archives.

21 Sept 01 Ballots have been mailed to all license holders. Review the enclosed platforms, choose your sectoral rep for the upcoming two year term and get your vote in. The forum is undergoing changes. Share your opinions on how the past season went for you and where improvements can be made. Prawn Fishermen's Voice welcomes announcements, newsletters, discussions and suggestions from all prawn fishers, associations and groups. Please contact Prawnvoice.