Sectoral Caucus Meeting 6 March 01 DFO made clear its position and what must be done by industry for a 2001 prawn season. Transparency in the entire process is critical and was highly stressed. DFO desires only a single accountable association representative of the fleet and a single Service Provider. At this point there is no choice for fishers and no fishery can happen without a JPA. DFO wants us to fish but without a JPA....no fishing. The funds must be in place soon. Fishermen will have to come to terms themselves over any remaining distrust and infighting. As it now stands everyone should have a clear view of the entire process. We have all had our inputs and compromises have been made. It is time to come together. The Flow Chart diagram at the bottom of this page should help clarify how the proposed system will work. JPA A Joint Project Agreement is the same as a Collaborative Agreement. This must be signed and in place or we do not go fishing. The JPA is being negotiated now and getting close to being signed. It is absolutely necessary as it is the only means of transferring funds from the fishermen to DFO. this is in progress between the PPFA (Brian Van Dorp) and the DFO (Bruce Adkins). PPFA is assuming a great responsibility to carry it out. modelled after the halibut JPA which was recently signed off. Tailored for the prawn industry. this is strictly operational and does in no way compromise 'advisory' or 'management' which are sectoral issues. allows DFO to deliver their in-season management program which includes: -on grounds monitoring -in season data interpretation -stock assessment JPA is a one year agreement. If all goes well it can be rolled over for another year. licenses holders have three options for payment. See the Flow chart below. Service Provider DFO advises that a single source service provider is necessary for proper management and control of the fishery. JO Thomas was selected as the service provider by the sectoral caucus. The contract between JO Thomas and the PPFA is in negotiation. PPFA simply gets the process in place. license holders will pay at the JOT counter. excess funding will go to PPFA for refund to fishers. PPFA will absorb costs of funds administration. process is transparent and the books are open. Contingency Funding The 2001 season is expected to run 80-90 days. Both the JPA and the Service Provider are geared for this time frame. In the event we have a longer fishing opportunity it was recommended to set up a contingency fund. for little additional cost to fishermen we can be assured to carry on fishing exact amount will be determined this issue must be agreed upon soon for inclusion in the contract excess funding will be returned to fishers after the season Additional Clarification PPFA invited BCPFCS to the Annual General Meeting on 4 April 2001   -all members are welcome and eligible for director positions stacked licenses will all pay full and equal funds towards the JPA and JOT Projected dollar figures were discussed for all aspects of the agreements. Once the agreements are in place and we know exactly what the costs will be they will be published here. This summary may be incomplete as the writer was unable to stay for the end of the meeting. Any additions or corrections to the above notes, by those in attendance, are welcome and encouraged. If you wish to add to this or have any queries or concerns please post in the forum. Since everyone involved desires transparency you just might get some clear answers.

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