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DFO launches community-based co-management plan Forum for coastal communities to air views, give advice on aquatic resource management launched Feb. 27,2001-- Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and MP for Vancouver South-Burnaby, announced Monday approval of terms of reference for a three-year pilot regional aquatic management board on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. "The WCVI Aquatic Management Board is an important step in establishing community-based co-management regimes in the Pacific region based on principles of respect, sustainability, inclusion and conservation," Minister Dhaliwal said. "The federal government is proud to be working with others - governments, First Nations and other interested parties - in support of shared stewardship and decision-making." The West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) Aquatic Management Board (the Board) is a forum for coastal communities and other persons and bodies affected by aquatic resource management to participate more fully with governments in aspects of the integrated management of aquatic resources in the management area. The pilot will proceed for a three-year term, at which point it will be evaluated and assessed with respect to its ongoing role. In 1998, Fisheries and Oceans Canada made a commitment to explore the possibility of a local area management board on a pilot basis based on the principles of integrated management and shared decision-making found in the Oceans Act. A working group consisting of representatives from the Federal government (DFO), Provincial government (Ministry of Fisheries and MELP), Nuu chah nulth Tribal Council (NTC), local community and Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) developed the terms of reference for the Board, which have now been accepted by all levels of government. The Board will consist of 16 representatives, two appointed representatives each from the federal, provincial, Nuu-chah-nulth and regional governments, and eight representatives to be nominated by aquatic resource interests. The Board will be involved with local issues as they pertain to stewardship, local fisheries management, aquaculture, community economic development, and integrated oceans management. Decision-making will be by consensus and will constitute recommendations to the appropriate statutory authority. Aquatic resources should be managed on an ecosystem basis, which is consistent with the principles of Hishukish Ts'awalk and Isaak. The Nuu-chah-nulth phrase Hishukish Ts'awalk (pronounced 'he-shook-ish tsa-walk') means 'everything is one'. Isaak (pronounced 'e-sock') means 'respect'. These phrases embody an understanding that all things are sacred and nothing is isolated from other aspects of life surrounding and within it. This concept contributes to a value system that promotes the need to be thrifty, not to be wasteful, and to be totally conscious of one's actual needs when interacting with others. The belief underlying these two principles is that the goal in interacting with other people or species is not to maximize personal benefit, but to produce mutually beneficial outcomes. These outcomes arise from understanding and respecting the needs of other people or species, and recognizing an essential 'oneness' or interconnection with other people or species. © 2001 International Teledata Group. All Rights Reserved back to Prawnvoice