New Fishers Old Fishers

Problem: Young people are not seeing fishing as a career.

Retiring fishermen cannot sell licenses/quota at a reasonable income for retirement.

Solutions:

• Attract young fishermen by lower costs to get into fishing.

• License banks (like NNFC or NFA) where new fishermen can lease licenses/quota at a reasonable price. Alaska is doing this now.

• Community owned licenses/quota – lease out to fishermen – like PICFI but for everyone.

• Diverse fisheries – not just license banks for salmon but for access to all fisheries

• Owner operator / fleet separation Corporations can’t own licenses/quota

• get rid of license speculation

• keep license/quota prices real

• Fishermen’s Loan Board for seasonal start-up loans and and licence/quota purchase costs.

• Low cost provincial loans – every province except BC and Alberta has a Fishermen’s Loan Board

• Help for all fishermen and for new fishermen to access loans

• Provide a market for licenses/quota so fishermen who want to retire can do so with dignity

• Government buy-back of licenses no longer active

• Shared Federal and Provincial government/community/fishermen buy –up of licenses/quota and put into license banks for future distribution (to new fishers or diversified licenses to established fishers)

• Better fish prices and no /or controled quota costs would attract new fishermen and new markets for licenses