06/28/2013
Fishermen to blockade DFO office in Prince Rupert to protest irresponsible management and manipulation of science
PRINCE RUPERT, BC, JUNE 28, 2013—In a controversial decision backed by questionable science and irresponsible management, a local official of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has unexpectedly closed the Dungeness crab fishery on the North Coast of British Columbia, sparking protest and possible civil disobedience from local fishermen.
The crab fishery—worth about $15 million in landed value and 300 jobs to the local economy—is critical to the economically depressed Skeena-Queen Charlotte Islands region. The decision to close the fishery on July 5 will be an economic catastrophe for the North Coast, since 50 percent of the crab is caught in the months of July and August.
This controversial, arbitrary decision comes on the heels of the Harper Government’s commitment to develop transparent and accountable decision-making for the Northern Gateway pipeline and oil tanker traffic in the North Coast’s sensitive marine environment. It calls into question the Harper Government’s commitment to responsible and accountable government.
The Area “A” Crab Association, which represents local crab fishermen and processors, is calling on federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield and senior officials in Ottawa to step in to review and reverse the decision. Local fishermen have vowed to shut down the DFO office in Prince Rupert on Friday, June 28 to protest the decision.
“This dubious decision has destroyed twenty years of work building a cooperative relationship with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and is going to be economically crippling to our rural communities for no justifiable scientific reason,” says Paul Edwards, President of the Area “A” Crab Association and captain of a fishing vessel. “The controversial decision is tainted by questionable science, an apparent conflict of interest, personnel problems within DFO and a total disregard for due process by bureaucrats. It has shattered our confidence in DFO to responsibly manage this fishery.”
The Area “A” Crab Association invests more than $300,000 in research and science each year to co-manage the fishery with DFO. The funds are spent on electronic monitoring of vessels, surveys to gauge the amount of soft-shelled crabs and biological sampling. Fishermen have implemented some of the strictest monitoring and conservation measures in North America to ensure their fishery is sustainable in the long run. The investment in science by fishermen saves taxpayers money that would otherwise be spent by DFO to manage the crab stocks.
Shaun Davies, DFO’s local crab fishery manager, made the controversial decision to close the fishery while apparently absent from his position from June 14 to June 21 due to a contract dispute with DFO. The Area “A” Crab Association was then directed to speak with his supervisor Sandra Davies, who also happens to be the wife of Shaun Davies. The leave of absence, contract dispute and apparent conflict of interest between two DFO officials has cast a shadow over the decision-making process.
By way of background, the Crab Association worked with DFO and an independent service provider to charter a fishing vessel to conduct a scientific survey this spring to identify if crab were “moulting” or shedding their shells as part of their natural growing cycle. The survey has been conducted for the past 20 years. The crabs are very vulnerable during this process and the fishery is typically closed to protect the crab stocks. The survey found that the crabs weren’t moulting and so the fishery remained open throughout the spring. Fishermen also identified new fishing grounds in the southern part of their licensed fishing area and initiated test fishing to collect scientific data to determine if it is sustainable to keep the new area open to commercial fishing.
Despite a long-standing process of collaborative management, local DFO manager Shaun Davies used arbitrary, questionable criteria to interpret the scientific data. Davies also suggested that data collected in the southern fishing grounds wasn’t sufficient, even though standard scientific methods were used to collect data on soft-shelled crab in the area. Adding to the confusion and poor collaboration, Davies made his decision on Friday, June 21 while apparently being on leave due to a contract dispute with DFO.
On Thursday, June 27, representatives of the Area “A” Crab Association travelled to DFO’s Regional Headquarters in Vancouver to meet with senior DFO manager Mel Kotyk to outline fishermen’s concerns, especially the questionable criteria used by Shaun Davies and other irregularities surrounding the decision.
On Thursday afternoon, Kotyk informed the Crab Association that the controversial decision would not be reversed, but he did not provide any scientific justification. Kotyk did confirm that Shaun Davies had no employment contract with the federal government and was on leave from DFO during the period when he made the decision to close the fishery.
Kotyk said that DFO’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo had done an analysis to support the closure, but DFO has refused to publicly release the detailed analysis even though fishermen paid for the scientific data collection. Furthermore, fishermen typically provide feedback on scientific analysis since they have a tremendous amount of local knowledge about moulting patterns and fishing trends over decades of experience.
“As fishermen, we are incredibly proud of the strict monitoring and rigorous science we have designed and funded for the sustainability of our fishery,” says Dan Edwards, Executive Director of the Area “A” Crab Association. “This controversial decision has broken our faith in DFO and poisoned years of positive cooperation.”
