Commercial fisheries licensing rules and policies reference document Pacific region
Geoduck and horseclam
Categories G and FG
Licence category
A commercial or communal commercial geoduck and horseclam licence (category G or FG) is required to commercially harvest geoduck and horseclam. Category G licence eligibilities are limited entry and vessel based. Category FG licence eligibilities are party based and must be annually designated to a registered Canadian commercial fishing vessel that meets established length restrictions. Category FG licences are held by a First Nation.
Vessels authorized to fish under the authority of a geoduck and horseclam licence are also permitted to:
- fish for Schedule II Species according to the conditions of each licence, except when fishing privileges have been relinquished (permanently retired);
- transport fish caught by other vessels; and
- be designated to fish under the authority of a category Z licence.
Licence category background
In 1977, a review of the newly developed commercial geoduck fishery was undertaken. Based on this review, starting July 1, 1977, the harvesting of Geoducks for commercial purposes was prohibited except under the terms of the permit issued pursuant to Section 6(6) of the British Columbia Fishery Regulations. At that time, the rate of growth of the geoduck fishery was uncertain and limits to entry were not considered necessary. However, it was anticipated that a limited entry program would be necessary in future to balance fishing effort with the size of the resource.
The number of vessels landing geoducks increased rapidly from five at the inception of the fishery in 1976, to 72 vessels with landings in 1979 when a moratorium on new permits was issued. Permits for 1981 were restricted to those fishers who landed more than 30,000 pounds in 1978 or 1979 including January 1 to March 31, 1980, depending on when the fishery was first licensed.
The geoduck and horse clam category G licence was introduced in 1983. Licenses were issued to vessels that were authorized by the Pacific Region, Director General of Fisheries and Oceans, to harvest geoduck and horse Clams by means of diving from a commercial fishing vessel and had marketed a minimum of 13,500 kg of both species in any combination during the year 1978 or during the period commencing January 1, 1979 and ending December 31, 1980.
In 1989, with the support of the commercial industry, a pilot project using individual vessel quota management and included a three year area rotation was started in the Geoduck fishery. This program was extended by the Minister and is still in effect.The coast is divided into three areas: North Coast, West Coast Vancouver Island, and waters inside Vancouver Island.
In 2007, the number of geoduck and horseclam licence eligibilities that may be ‘stacked’ on any one vessel was raised from three to five. The ability to participate in supplemental harvests of geoduck and horseclam from enhanced beds was also introduced.
A change to the licence expiry date was implemented in the 2016 fishing season, resulting in the geoduck fishery now running for 14 months (from January 1st to February 28th of the following year). As a result of the change, no extra quota were allocated to account for the new 14 month fishery and future fishing plans would now run from March 1 to the end of February the following year.
Fishing areas
The coast is divided into three regions, the North Coast, West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI), and Inside Waters (Gulf).
Since 2012 each quota block has been designated to a region and a licence will be able to fish in multiple regions relative to its quota blocks.
The coast-wide distribution of quota blocks will be as follows:
- Inside waters - portions of Areas 12 through 19, and 29: 65 quota blocks or 11.8% of the coastwide commercial TAC
- WCVI - portions of Areas 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27, and related offshore areas: 75 quota blocks or 13.6% of the Coastwide commercial TAC.
- North Coast - portions of Areas 1 through 10, and related offshore areas: 410 quota blocks or 74.5% of the Coastwide commercial TAC.
Licence renewal fee
The annual renewal fee for a commercial category G licence is calculated as follows:
- $252.00 multiplied by the number of tonnes of geoduck and horseclam authorized to be taken under that licence, minus 40 per cent of that product, up to a maximum reduction of $1,000.00.
There is no annual renewal fee for a communal commercial category FG licence.
Licence issuance
A geoduck and horseclam licence must be renewed, and the renewal fee paid, every year by February 28th to retain the privilege to be issued the licence in the future. This means that vessel owners must renew the licence whether they intend to fish or not. If the licence is not annually renewed by February 28th, the licence will cease and DFO will not be able to consider a request to issue that licence in the future.
Every year, communal commercial geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility holders must also designate a fishing vessel to hold the licence by submitting a request through the National Online Licensing System. Instructions are available.
Prior to licence issue, vessel owners and licence eligibility holders must ensure that:
- any ministerial conditions placed on the licence eligibility have been met; and
- any conditions of the previous year’s licence have been met, such as the completion, submission, and approval of any logbook fish slip or quota overage requirements.
- the designated vessel's overall length does not exceed the maximum vessel length of the category FG licence eligibility.
The limit for licence eligibilities held on a vessel has been waived. A vessel may hold a maximum of 50 quota blocks. These may all be for the same licence area or a combination of areas.
Licence status report
The licence status report provides a listing of all current Geoduck quota blocks and areas
for category G or FG licensed vessels, including caps, reallocated quota, catch-to-date, and
balance of uncaught quota for any given date. A licence status report may be obtained by calling
Archipelago Marine Research at
250-383-4535
toll-free 1-888-383-4535
Quota reallocations
In order to reallocate the quota blocks, a Request for Reallocation of Geoduck Quota form must be submitted to DFO using the National On-Line Licensing System (NOLS). For permanent reallocations, all owners of record must sign the form and provide notarized signature(s). For temporary reallocations, only one owner must sign the form.
Upon DFO approval Archipelago Marine Research processes requests for reallocations of Geoduck quota blocks
Should the quota reallocation be approved, a licence amendment will be issued to reflect the new individual vessel quota and/or by-catch holding amounts. All licence amendments must be attached to the licence conditions and on board the vessel when actively harvesting/fishing Geoduck by dive.
Licence amendments
Before beginning to harvest under the authority of a geoduck and horseclam licence, the vessel owner/master must have on board a valid geoduck licence amendment. This amendment provides the quota, so without it, the vessel is not permitted to land any fish. A licence amendment is provided when requested by a licence holder through the National Online Licensing System.
Licence documents
Geoduck licence documents are valid from the date of issue until February 28th of the following calendar year.
Replacements for lost or destroyed licence documents may be obtained by reprinting the licence document through the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).
Vessel replacement
The owner(s) of a commercial geoduck and horseclam licensed vessel may apply to replace the commercial fishing vessel. Both the replacement vessel and the vessel being replaced must have a survey on file with the Pacific Fishery Licence Unit or the survey must be submitted with the vessel replacement application. Vessels must be surveyed according to DFO guidelines.
Vessel owner(s) should also note the following rules:
- Geoduck and horseclam licence eligibilities do not become (permanently) married to other vessel based licence eligibilities and may be separated.
- Geoduck and horseclam licence eligibilities may be placed either permanently or temporarily (where applicable) on any registered Canadian commercial fishing vessel that does not exceed the original vessel length (OVL) of the geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility. This is subject to DFO policies governing the placement of other vessel based licence eligibilities also held on the vessel being replaced. The receiving vessel may exceed the OVL as long as the vessel holds another vessel based licence eligibility and remains eligible for that licence while the geoduck and horseclam licence is on the vessel. When the receiving vessel holds a Schedule II Species licence eligibility, the Schedule II Species licence eligibility must be relinquished.
- When a Schedule II Species licence eligibility is relinquished, in conjunction with a geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility vessel replacement, and the overall length of the receiving vessel is greater than the OVL of the geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility, the OVL of the geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility shall be amended to the overall length of the receiving vessel. The OVL amendment shall not exceed the maximum vessel length of the geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility
- When the receiving vessel does not already hold a vessel based licence eligibility, the Schedule II Species privileges associated with the geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility must be relinquished.
- Applications to place a geoduck and horseclam licence on a vessel that already holds one or more geoduck and horseclam licences that have relinquished the Schedule II Species privileges must be reviewed by DFO on a case-by-case basis.
- A maximum of 50 quota blocks may be placed on one vessel.
- Owners of vessels that currently hold both a geoduck and horseclam and a Schedule II Species licence eligibility may apply to place the Schedule II Species licence eligibility on a vessel that does not exceed the OVL of the original (1989) geoduck and horseclam licensed vessel. Such applications should be made within a reasonable time frame. When this occurs, the OVL of the remaining geoduck and horseclam licence eligibility will be amended to the OVL of the vessel that holds the eligibility and the maximum vessel length will be adjusted accordingly. This is consistent with the commitment made by DFO in the Geoduck fishery – 1989 Enterprise Allocation document.
The Application to Replace a Commercial Vessel form is available.
Communal commercial licences are not eligible for vessel replacement.
If you require further discussion or information on the above mentioned vessel replacement policies, please contact the Pacific Fishery Licence Unit.
Logbooks
Logbooks may be obtained through Archipelago Marine Research by telephone
250-752-7205
or email GeoduckAMM@archipelago.ca.
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