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FISHERIES DATA

Commodity balance (1998)

STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDUSTRY

Canada’s fishing industry operates on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and on more than 800 freshwater lakes in between. The country exploits more than 100 commercially valuable species of fish. About 1.2 million tonnes of marine species were landed each year from 1989 to 1997¹⁰. The top three marine species caught in 1997were hake (105,786 t); redfish (36,600 t); and cod (31,142 t), for the groundfish category. In the pelagic and other finfish category¹⁰, herring formed the bulk of the landing with (215,972 t), about 85 percent of which came from the Atlantic coast; followed by salmon (48,726 t), and capelin (21,800 t). For shellfish¹⁰, the top three species landed in 1997 were shrimps (77,877 t); snow crab (71,369 t); and scallop (65,818 t).

Marine fisheries

On the Atlantic coast there were 43,831 full-time and part-time fishersin 1997. The Atlantic fishery consists of 22,643 offshore (greater than 19.8 m or 65 feet) and inshore (less than 19.8 m) vessels¹¹. Part of the offshore fleet consists of 106 large vessels¹¹(30.5 m or 100 feet and over), owned by a few vertically-integrated companies, and concentrates on groundfish, primarily along the Scotian Shelf, Grand Banks and Hamilton Bank. These vessels are highly specialized, mobile, capital-intensive units, operating year-round, depending on resource availability. In addition to the large vessels, which include stern and side groundfish trawlers, the offshore fleet includes specialized intermediate-sized vessels, including herring seiners, scallop draggers and a smaller number of craft concentrating on offshore snow crab, lobster, shrimp and swordfish.

The inshore fleet comprises about 23,000 independently-owned vessels¹¹. These vessels vary from simple, motorized, open-decked boats to small trawlers, Danish seiners and longliners with sophisticated equipment. Most inshore vessels are versatile, participating in the groundfish fishery as well as other inshore fisheries such as those for lobster, herring, mackerel and squid. Vessel numbers in both fleets dropped as consequence of a series of buy-back schemes in the late 1990s.

In terms of value, the top ten ports of landing in Canadian Atlantic fisheries²⁸in 1996 were: Lunenburg in Nova Scotia (US$29.8 million), Harbour Grace in Newfoundland (US$27.7 million), Argentia in Newfoundland (US$ 22.9 million), Shippegan in New Brunswick (US$ 20.3 million), Yarmouth in Nova Scotia (US$ 17.2 million), St. John’s in Newfoundland (US$ 15.3 million), St. Anthony in Newfoundland (US$ 13.5 million), Lower West Pubnico in Nova Scotia (US$ 13.4 million), Riviere-au-Renard in Quebec (US$ 12.6 million), and Meteghan in Nova Scotia (US$ 11.1 million).

In terms of catch volume¹⁰, the main Atlantic species in 1997 were herring (184,433 t), shrimp (72,917 t), queen crab (71,369 t) and scallop (65,745 t). As to landed value¹², shellfish fisheries dominated with lobster (US$ 286 million), followed by queen crab (US$ 146 million), shrimp (US$ 131 million) and scallop (US$ 72 million).

On Canada’s Pacific coast, the most important species in 1997 in terms of landed weight¹⁰was hake (97,300 t) followed by salmon (48,649 t), herring - mainly in the roe fishery - (31,539 t), and the multi-species rockfish fishery (18,400 t). But in terms of value¹²the top fisheries were salmon (US$ 79 million), herring (US$ 33 million), halibut (US$ 28 million), and groundfish (US$ 27 million). On average, Canadian Pacific fisheries are about 35 percent of the Atlantic fisheries, both in terms of landed weight and value. Overall, in 1997, Pacific fisheries accounted for 26 percent of Canada’s commercial landings and landed value.

In 1998, the Pacific fishery employed 9,286 fishers (reduced by 46 percent since 1985) , of which 7,581 hold 1-year licenses and 1,705 hold 5-year licenses¹³. The fisheries are, for the most part, conducted from small vessels in relatively protected waters close to shore. The commercial fleet has declined 44 percent since 1985 from 1985 to 4,367 vessels¹⁴, comprised of 3,532 vessels of less than 13.73 m (or 45 feet)¹⁴, primarily smaller gillnetters and trollers¹⁵which catch pink, chum, sockeye, coho and chinook salmon. Larger (greater than 19.8 m or 65 feet) multi-purpose vessels have been reduced 17 percent since 1985 to 835 units¹⁴and use mainly seine gear to catch salmon and roe herring. Roe herring is also caught from about 1,305 small, open boats (averaging 7 m) using gillnets¹⁵. About 400 longliners participate in the halibut fishery¹⁵. Most of the seiners and longliners are less than 30 m. A small number of vessels fish for tuna in international waters of the Pacific.

Technically speaking, Canada’s Pacific fishery does not have ports of landing the same sense as the Atlantic fishery¹⁶. A statistics unit officer in Pacific Fisheries and Oceans indicates that fish are mainly landed in private ports owned by fishing plants in various cities on Canada’s west coast¹⁶. In 1996, the top ten landing sites in the Pacific fishery in terms of landed values were Prince Rupert (US$ 29.5 million), Vancouver (US$ 17.4 million), Richmond (US$ 15.9 million), Delta (US$ 5.4 million), North Vancouver (US$ 4.5 million), Ucluelet (US$ 2.4 million), Parksville (US$ 1.6 million), Port Simpson (US$ 1.4 million), Port Moody (US$ 1.3 million), and Courtenay (US$ 1.2 million).

Inland fisheries

Inland or freshwater commercial fisheries in Canada are relatively small in terms of catches and value¹⁷. With lakes ranging in size from a few square kilometers to more than 82,000 square kilometers (Lake Superior), the vessels are equally diverse - from tracked snow vehicles and small, open boats (5 to 8 m) powered by outboard engines, to about 300 larger vessels (12 to 25 m) which fish in the Great Lakes, other large bodies of water in western Canada and the Northwest Territories. In 1997, total landings from inland fisherieswere recorded as 38,798 tonnes, which yielded US$51 million. Landings originated from Ontario (19,463 t), Manitoba (10,125 t), Saskatchewan (3,157 t), Alberta (1,695 t), Quebec (1,515 t), New Brunswick (1,432 t), and the Northwest Territories (1,411 t). The main species harvested are smelt, yellow perch, walleye and lake whitefish¹⁸. These catch data do not include a substantial freshwater sport fish catch in western Canada and First Nations subsistence catches in the northern Canada.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is a relatively new industry in Canada²². Fisheries and Oceans Canada indicates that aquaculture was first used to enhance natural stocks, however, it is now a large-scale commercial industry across the country providing direct and indirect economic benefits to many local and regional economies¹⁹. The Office of the Commissioner for Aquaculture Development recorded that commercial aquaculture production dates to the 1950s, when trout and oysters were the species of interest²⁰. Over the past 20 years, commercial production has expanded to include several salmon species, Arctic char, mussels, clams, and scallops²⁰. New species that are being developed include black cod in British Columbia and halibut, haddock and Atlantic cod in the Maritime provinces²⁰. Other species include eel, tilapia, sea urchin, quahog, and geoduck clams²⁰. All ten provinces and the Yukon Territory currently have a stake in commercial aquaculture and interest is increasing in the Northwest Territories²⁰

In terms of production²¹, total aquaculture production in 1997 throughout Canada was 87,211 t. This was comprised of salmon 60,862 t; mussels 11,463 t; oysters 6,649 t; trout 5,232 t; steelhead 946 t; clams 755 t; other finfish 78 t; scallops 50 t; and other shellfish 18 t. Comparing this to world standards, however, Canada is a relatively small producer, estimated to account for about 0.3 percent of the world aquaculture production²²

The Canadian aquaculture industry generated a value²¹of US$ 280 million in 1997, with salmon being the major contributor (83 percent), followed by trout (7 percent), mussels (4 percent), oysters (3 percent), steelhead (1 percent), and clams (0.9 percent). This aquaculture production statistics, however, includes statistics from ten provinces only, excluding Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunnavut. Aquaculture production in 1997 accounted for about 8 percent of the total fish production (i.e., marine, inland and aquaculture) in Canada, but accounted for almost 19 percent of the total value¹⁰¹²²¹

Value-added analysis²³indicates that, in 1997, the Canadian aquaculture industry generated a gross output²⁴of about US$ 369 million from the sales of aquaculture products and services. British Columbia contributed 54 percent of this output, followed by New Brunswick (32 percent), Ontario (5.3 percent), Prince Edward Island (3.3 percent), Nova Scotia (2.8 percent), Newfoundland (1.6 percent), and Quebec (0.8 percent). In overall, excluding the combined value-added generated by Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the total gross value added generated by the aquaculture industry in 1997 was US$ 128 million. According to a 1995 Aquaculture Survey²², the major ownership of the industry (about 41 percent) is through incorporated Canadian companies, 37 percent are unincorporated sole proprietorships, and 20 percent are unincorporated partnerships. The overall ownership reported by the survey respondents indicates a 98 percent Canadian ownership of the industry.

Recreational fisheries²⁵

In Canada, fishing is a major recreational activity. Most of this fishing activity (93.7 percent) takes place in freshwater. Over 4.2 million anglers fished a total of 55.5 million days in 1995, of which over 42 percent were in Ontario, with Quebec second at 19.6 percent. Over 90 percent of this effort was expended by resident Canadians (about 3.3 million anglers), and 9.5 percent by foreign anglers (almost 749,000) who visited this country, many for the sole purpose of recreational fishing. The most important factors associated with the enjoyment of the sport are lack of pollutants in the fish and clean water. In British Columbia, there is a significant (over 600,000 anglers per year) and increasingly valuable marine sport fishery for salmon²⁶and in 1998 the industry created approximately 5,990 person-years of employment, compared to 2,300 person-years of employment in the commercial fishery²⁷. The sport fishery takes 55 percent of the chinook salmon catch and 19 percent of the coho salmon. The average revenue per salmon caught by sports anglers was estimated at nearly $500, compared to less than $7.00 for a commercially caught fish.

The 1995 Survey of Recreational Fishing showed that in 1995 anglers caught over 254 million fish of all species and retained just over 113 million of them (or 44.6 percent). In terms of species harvested, trout accounted for 30.5 percent of all fish retained. This is followed by perch (17.2 percent), walleye (14.7 percent), smelt (7.9 percent) and northern pike (5.1 percent).

Utilization of the catch

Most fish catches in Canada are landed fresh at home ports. However, some halibut and rockfish on the Pacific coast is taken to US ports and, on both coasts, over-the-side sales to foreign vessels provide inshore fishers with buyers during glut periods when the plants are already at full capacity and cannot accept more fish. Data from 1996 indicates that about 59 percent of catches were sold fresh, chilled, or frozen, 13.7 percent were sold as prepared products, 13.4 percent as dried, salted or smoked, 12.2 percent as meals and soluble, and 1.6 percent as oils and fats²⁸

State of the industry

Following continuous decline in the landing of Atlantic groundfish (notably cod), leading to the collapse of the resource base, a moratorium was imposed on commercial fishing for Northern Cod in July 1992²⁹. Originally, the moratorium was supposed to last for two years, but the stocks continued to decline and the moratorium is expected to stay in place until late 1990s³⁰. Finally, after seven years, in early July 1999, a commercial fishery for cod opened off the Newfoundland coast, marked the end of the moratorium³¹. Following recommendations from the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC)³², the TAC for the inshore portion of NAFO zones 2J3KL was set at 9,000 t, the upper limit of the range recommended by the FRCC³¹. For several years after the cod moratorium a snow crab fishery thrived in Newfoundland, but in 2000 quotas were cut back considerably after fears of heavy stock depletion. A series of buy-back schemes for vessels under 21 m in length have been in operation³³

The Pacific salmon industry continues to suffer from declining stocks and poor financial performance on the part of fishers and processors. The industry’s problems remain linked to overcapacity. Efforts to conserve, protect and develop the fish resources and improve their utilization include strict limitations on places and times when fisheries are allowed ("openings"). A salmonid enhancement program³⁴was designed to rebuild stocks to allow approximately 150 000 t to be caught annually against the more recent average of 70 000 t. Since 1977 large amounts of money have been spent on salmon hatcheries by the Salmonid Enhancement Programme (SEP) and its successors³⁵. Over 600 million juvenile salmon are released from these hatcheries each year and its is estimated that about 10 percent-18 percent of the commercial and sport fishery catch derives from these fish. Efforts are also being made to reduce the fleet through a series of vessel/license buy-back programmes, and vessels have recently been restricted to fish in either northern or southern coastal zones, instead of throughout as formerly. Other important Pacific fisheries such as groundfish, hake, halibut and herring (the latter for a roe fishery) are in reasonable condition and have benefitted from the introduction of various forms of Transferable Quotas.

Statistics Canada indicates that many Provincial Governments put funds from resource-related recreation into managing the fish resource¹⁸, but money from general taxation is also used. In Alberta, part of the revenue for improving habitat protection and resource management comes from sport fishing licenses¹⁸. In Quebec, there were contraction phases in the fishing industry. To cope with this the province initiated a five-year restructuring program in 1990 that aimed to consolidate the fishing fleet and the processing sector. This program is designed to re-establish a balance between the resources of the province and its processing capacity, stabilize the financial situation of fishers and renew the resources of the province¹⁸. In British Columbia, the provincial government has set up a Fisheries Renewal Programme³⁶that funds habitat reconstruction projects for salmon streams (including an urban salmon stream project and exploratory fisheries for invertebrates such as opal squid.

As noted above, Canada has a small but rapidly growing aquaculture industry²⁰³⁷. The industry has witnessed a lot of growth in the past two decades. The following reasons account for this²⁰³⁷. First, there is a growing demand for seafood in the world. Second, some of this demand can be met with new sources such as cultured fish. Third, there is an increasing reliance on aquaculture products as dependable year-round sources of seafood. Finally, there is widespread recognition of the high quality of Canadian cultured seafood products. Nonetheless, this growth cannot continue forever because there are a number of limiting factors²⁰. These include new international sources of supply (from Chile and Norway especially) that have lowered prices for some species; processing, cultivation and distribution costs are reducing profits; and competition within Canada and among countries is intensifying. Another major constraint is the growing conflict between the emerging aquaculture industry and traditional fishers, real estate developers and recreational interests. There has been growing opposition by other stakeholders and the conservation movement.

Economic role of the fishing industry

In 1995, Canada ranked as the seventh largest exporter of fish and fishery products in the world with a total export of 440,491 t, for a revenue of US$ 2.3 billion³⁸. In 1998, most fish exportsby value go to the United States (67 percent), followed by Japan (15 percent), the European Union (10 percent), and other European and overseas markets (8 percent). The value and quantity of Canada’s fish and seafood exports³⁹in 1998 was US$ 2.2 billion and 497,468 t, respectively. This exports were composed of groundfish (77,577 t; US$ 305 million), pelagic fish (173,542 t; US$ 540 million), shellfish (142,143 t; US$ 1,036 million), freshwater fish (25,379 t; US$ 107 million), and other fish and seafood products (78,827 t; US$ 171 million).

On the other hand, in 1998 Canada imported 448,952 t of fish and seafood products, costing US$ 1.2 billion⁴⁰. The majority of these importsby value came from the United States (190,929 t; US$ 473 million), followed by other overseas markets (85,021 t; US$ 351 million), other European markets, especially Norway (95,468 t; US$ 204 million); Central and South America (52,258 t; US$ 99 million), the European Union (21,190 t; US$ 70 million), and Japan (4,087 t; US$ 13 million). The imports⁴⁰were comprised of groundfish (82,598 t; US$ 211 million), pelagic fish (84,716 t; US$ 228 million), shellfish (116,637 t; US$ 524 million), freshwater fish (4,788 t; US$ 14 million), and other fish and seafood products (160,186 t; US$ 234 million). Much of these imports went to the processing sector based in Newfoundland, which has actually expanded its output since the collapse of the northern cod.

After the collapse Northern cod fishery in July 1992²⁹, employment in the fishing and trapping industry⁴¹has decreased dramatically³⁰⁴². According to the 1996 Canadian census⁴³it supports only a little over 45,000 Canadians, compared to, for example, more than 100,000 Canadians in 1983. In Prince Edward Island, only 3 percent of the population earns its living from fishing and trapping. In Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the percentages dropped to 1.7 percent and 1 percent, respectively. In other Atlantic provinces, the figures are less than 1 percent.

The economic contribution of aquaculture industry (including its value-added components) is quite significant. In terms of employment contribution, the Office of the Commissioner for Aquaculture Development (OCAD) noted that the total estimated direct employment figures on a national basis within the aquaculture industry are in excess of 5,000 workers²². These numbers include permanent full-time employment, part-time and seasonal casual jobs. In addition to direct jobs, aquaculture generates indirect employment through linkages to industry suppliers. Records from OCAD²²estimated that for every direct job in the industry, two-thirds of a job is created in the support service and on the supply side.

Those who go fishing as a recreational pursuit generate a considerable amount of economic activity. While expenditures alone do not provide an accurate measure of the economic value of the fishery, they do indicate the direct economic impact of recreational fishing²⁵. In the recreational fishery sector²⁵, the 1995 Survey of Recreational Fishing found that the angling population spent US$ 5.4 billion in Canada in 1995 of which US$ 3.6 billion was directly associated with their sport and US$ 1.8 billion was spent on services directly related to their angling activities. These expenditures were further augmented by monies - close to US$ 3.6 billion - they spent on durable goods purchased to improve their access to the resource and their enjoyment of it. The total additional amount anglers indicated they were willing to pay in 1995 was US$ 702 million²⁵. Resident anglers accounted for 83 percent of this total. Clearly, this industry accounts for thousands of jobs in the tourism industry. However, in many areas, the sport fishery competes with commercial and native fisheries for the same stocks, an issue the federal government is studying closely.

RESEARCH

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans of the federal Canadian government is responsible for the government research programs upon which decisions concerning the assessment, management and development of the nation’s fisheries and fish habitats are based. The wide variety of programs are conducted in thirteen strategically-located science facilities staffed by approximately 1,514 research professionals in all categories and served by an active fleet of 136 Canadian Coast Guard vessels. Various scientific studies, economic and policy research are also conducted by universities across Canada and by the fisheries ministries of Provincial Governments.

INTERNET LINKS

Fisheries and Oceans Canada:http://www.ncr.dfo.ca/

Department of Fisheries and Oceans regional sites:

Newfoundland:http://www.nwafc.nf.ca/

Maritimes:http://www.maritimes.dfo.ca/

Laurentian:http://www.qc.dfo.ca/

Pacific:http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sci/pbs/

Central and Arctic:http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/regions/central/FishMgmt/Locations_e.htm/

British Columbia Ministry of Fisheries:http://www.fisheries.gov.bc.ca/

Fisheries Renewal British Columbia:http://www.fishrenewal.gov.bc.ca/

The British Columbia Aboriginal Fisheries Commission:http://www.bcafc.org/

The History of the Northern Cod Fishery:http://collections.ic.gc.ca/cod/

Ransom Myer’s Stock-Recruitment Database:http://www.mscs.dal.ca/~myers/welcome.html

Fisheries Resource Conservation Council:http://www.ncr.dfo.ca/frcc/

Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat:http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/

Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Councilhttp://www.fish.bc.ca/main1.html

Pacific Salmon Commission:http://www.psc.org/Index.htm

Office of the Commissioner for Aquaculture Developmenthttp://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ocad-bcda/index.html

British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association:http://www.bcsalmonfarms.bc.ca/default.htm

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization:http://www.nafo.int/

International Pacific Halibut Commissio:http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/default.htm

Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia:http://www.fisheries.com/

Institute of Fisheries Analysis, Simon Fraser University:http://www.sfu.ca/~ifa/

Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie University:http://www2.dal.ca/mmm/index.html

Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland:http://www.mi.mun.ca/

The Eco-Research Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland:http://www.mun.ca/ecoresearch/

Institute of Social & Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland:http://www.mun.ca/iser/