Development of management measures for the groundfish fishery in Atlantic Canada: A case study of the Nova Scotia inshore fleet

Abstract

Subsequent to extension of fishery jurisdiction in 1977 it was Canadian policy to favour the inshore sector in rehabilitation of the Canadian groundfish fishery. Catch allocation, limited entry licensing and vessel replacement policies were implemented, which at first allowed and then increasingly attempted to limit inshore fleet expansion, which was being encouraged through financial assistance programmes. New regulatory authorities wer obtained to deal with the increasingly difficult task of limiting annual harvests to catch quota levels. A 1986 study concluded that the licensed capacity of the Nova Scotia inshore fleet was approximately four times that required to exploit the resource at target levels. As a result of a government task force report released in January 1990, substantial changes were made in the control of fishing by inshore fleets, including establishment of an individual boat catch quota system for some sectors. This article documents the regulatory actions taken to date to control inshore fleet development and annual fishing activities, and the responses of fishermen to these, as a possible guide to the implementation of new approaches.