Commercial fisheries licensing rules and policies reference document Pacific region

Sablefish

Categories K and FK

Licence category

A commercial or communal commercial sablefish licence (category K or FK) is required to participate in the directed commercial sablefish fishery. Category K licence eligibilities are limited entry and vessel based. Category FK eligibilities are party based and must be designated to a registered Canadian commercial fishing vessel that meets established length restrictions. Category FK licences are held by First Nation groups.

Vessels authorized to fish under the authority of a sablefish licence eligibility are also permitted to catch and retain other Groundfish species by hook and line gear or trap gear, as outlined in the licence conditions. These vessels are also permitted to:

• fish for Schedule II Species according to the conditions of each licence;
• catch and retain other groundfish species;
• transport non-groundfish species caught by other vessels; and
• be designated to fish under the authority of a category Z licence.

Licence category background

Prior to extended jurisdiction in 1977, Canada had a limited domestic offshore black cod fishery, and an extensive foreign offshore fishery. Canada phased out foreign effort in this fishery by 1980 as Canadians showed interest in this species. The new black cod fleet included a number of Canadian vessels phased out of the Alaska Halibut fishery.

On October 4, 1979, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans announced that the fishery would become a limited entry fishery. The announcement noted that “because black cod is limited to an annual yield of 3500 metric tons, it is necessary to restrict the number of vessels participating in this fishery, to protect the resource” and “the dramatic influx of vessels in recent months threatens to disrupt this fishery.” The projected number of eligible vessels at the time of limitation was 16. The final number of licenses issued after appeals was 48.

Sablefish category K licenses were first issued in 1981 in respect of commercial fishing vessels if:

1. The vessel owner produced records showing that, while fishing by means of longline or trap gear in 1978, or up to October 5, 1979, the vessel was used to catch Sablefish, and made a recorded commercial catch of Sablefish in dressed head-off condition, equal to at least:
   a) 6800 kg (15,000 lbs.) in the case of a vessel 18.28 m (60 ft.) or less in overall length, or
   b) 22,680 kg (60,000 lbs.) in the case of a vessel more than 18.28 m (60 ft.) in overall length, or


2. A category C licence was issued in respect of that vessel in 1980 and the owner produced records showing expenditures during the period January 1, 1978 to October 5, 1979, for freezing equipment, and longline or trap gear, intended to be used to fish for Sablefish, amounting to at least: a. $20,000 in the case of a vessel 18.28 m (60 ft.) or less in overall length, or
   b. $100,000 in the case of a vessel more than 18.28 m (60 ft.) in overall length,


3. Vessels more than 18.28 m (60 ft.) in overall length which fished in the Alaska Halibut fishery in 1978 or 1979 but were excluded by the 1979 Halibut agreements and were issued 1980 Salmon (Category A) or Halibut (Category L) licence tabs.

For the years 1981 through to 1989 the sablefish fishery operated with DFO setting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and the number of fishing days for the licensed fleet. The use of this open fishery management strategy/derby style, lead to consistent overrunning of the TAC, which in turn led to continued reductions in fishing days (from 245 in 1981 to 14 days in 1989) for the following year. Industry became alarmed at the prospect of a further reduction in the number of fishing days for 1990. After the industry had many lengthy discussions on alternate management strategies, the use of an Individual Vessel Quota System in the sablefish fishery for 1990 was recommended to an approved by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

In 1990, a two year trail period using individual vessel quota (IVQ) management commenced. Each licence holder has an individual quota which is a percentage of the TAC. The individual quota was calculated for each licence holder based 30% on the vessel’s overall length and 70% on historical performance.

The sablefish IVQ’s has since been extended. Quota blocks have been identified as the annual quota block for each licence as determined by the set allocation formula defined in the 1990 management plan and shown as a percentage of the Sablefish TAC for the Sablefish Category K licensed fleet. Each quota block is broken into quota shares. For 1994, there were 692 quota shares. Of these, 644 shares were equal to 0.15% of the Sablefish TAC for the sablefish licensed fleet. The remaining 48 quota shares were each less than 0.15% of the sablefish TAC and represent the remainder of each licence holder’s quota block.

In 1999, a 19-month licence year was used in order to transition the sablefish licence year to August 1st to July 31st from a calendar year. The new sablefish licence year came into effect in 2000.

In 2006, a three-year pilot plan was introduced in the commercial groundfish fisheries. The pilot was intended to strengthen conservation in commercial groundfish fisheries in the Pacific Region through a range of measures, including improving bycatch monitoring, reducing discard, and making fish harvesters accountable for their bycatch.

A comprehensive management plan for all groundfish fisheries (e.g., Schedule II Species, groundfish Trawl, rockfish hook and line, halibut, and sablefish) was also created to replace all of the individual plans that were produced in previous years. This new Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) for groundfish was released on April 26, 2006.

Licence renewal fee

The annual renewal fee for a commercial category K licence is calculated as follows:

• $241.00 multiplied by the number of tonnes of Sablefish initially allocated to the licence eligibility, less 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 FK licence.

Licence issuance

A commercial sablefish licence must be renewed, and the renewal fee paid, every year by February 20th 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 20th, 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 sablefish 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 holder must ensure that:

1. any ministerial conditions placed on licence eligibility have been met; and
2. any conditions of the previous year’s licence have been met.
3. the designated vessel's overall length does not exceed the maximum vessel length of the category FK licence eligibility.

Licence amendments

The sablefish licence must be issued before a request for licence amendment or reallocation of individual transferable quota will be processed.

The vessel owner/master must have on board a valid sablefish licence amendment prior to fishing. This amendment outlines the total amount of fish by species that the vessel may land for the fishing season, so without it, the vessel is not permitted to land any fish.

A Request for Licence Amendment form must be completed by the vessel owner/licence eligibility holder or the designated agent and faxed to the Groundfish Management Unit at 604-666-8525.

Licence documents

Sablefish licence documents are valid from the date of issue to February 20th of the next calendar year.

Vessel owners or licence holders may reprint any lost or destroyed licence documents using the National Online Licensing System (NOLS).

Vessel replacement

The owner(s) of a commercial sablefish 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:

• A single commercial sablefish licence eligibility may be placed on a vessel that does not hold another vessel based licence eligibility as long as the replacing vessel does not exceed the overall length of the existing vessel.
• A sablefish licence eligibility may be separated from any combination of married licence eligibilities as long as it is placed on another commercially licensed fishing vessel, of any length, that holds a salmon, geoduck and horseclam, halibut, crab, shrimp by trawl, groundfish trawl, or prawn and shrimp by trap licence eligibility. Sablefish licence eligibilities may not be stacked.
• When the intention is to make the sablefish licence a stand-alone licence and the replacing vessel has a Schedule II Species licence eligibility, the Schedule II Species licence eligibility must be relinquished (permanently retired).

The Application to Replace a Commercial Vessel form is available

Communal commercial licences are not eligible for vessel replacement.

Temporary vessel replacement

When a sablefish licence is temporarily placed on a vessel which holds a Schedule II Species licence eligibility, then the Schedule II Species licence eligibility must be returned to DFO. The Schedule II Species licence will be held for the duration of the time the sablefish licence is temporarily placed.

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 calling
250-383-4535
toll-free 1-888-383-4535

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