Question Period Note: Central Coast Crab Fisheries and Food, Social, Ceremonial Needs

Central Coast Crab Fisheries and Food, Social, Ceremonial Needs

My department and four B.C. central coast First Nations have been working together through the Central Coast Collaborative Crab Management Process to support food security and ensure that food, social, and ceremonial fishing access has priority after conservation over other users of the resource.

In April, the Department approved a recommendation coming out of the collaborative management process to close 17 areas to commercial and recreational fishing to support food security.

We value the collaborative work with the central coast First Nations and remain committed to also working with the commercial and recreational sectors to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fishery.

If pressed on concerns by the commercial and recreational sectors
Conservation is DFO’s first priority in the management of all fisheries, followed by providing harvest opportunities to fulfill First Nations food, social, and ceremonial requirements.

After these priorities have been met and if abundance permits, DFO seeks to balance opportunities for recreational and commercial harvest.

Both the recreational and commercial sectors were consulted on the specific site closures and their input on the proposed management changes to improve FSC access has been considered and evaluated.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the central coast First Nations will continue to engage with commercial and recreational stakeholders.

• The Central Coast Collaborative Crab Management Process (CCCCMP) is a pilot for collaborative governance that is part of the larger Fisheries Resources and Reconciliation Agreement (FRRA) process, signed July 2021, between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and four Coastal First Nations (Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’Xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv) that will offer economic and governance opportunities to First Nation communities. The other Coastal First Nations signatories to the FRRA are: Haida, Metlakatla, Gitga’at and Gitxaala.
• The CCCCMP is governed by a letter of intent and a process and procedure agreement. The primary goals are: (1) to maintain healthy crab populations; and (2) ensure sufficient Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) access.
• The collaborative First Nations/DFO steering committee recommended a list of closures based on a joint review of information on local crab biology and First Nations’ FSC needs.
• Since its inception in 2017, the process has focused on developing a joint understanding of crab on the central coast, and works to develop clear goals and guidelines for FSC crab management in the central coast region. The Dungeness crab fishery in B.C. is primarily managed by reducing fishing impacts on reproductive individuals. No crab fishing sector can legally keep crab smaller than 165 mm point-to-point carapace width (“legal male crab”).
• Both the recreational and commercial sectors were consulted on the specific site closures between December 2019 - January 2021. Their input on the proposed management changes to improve FSC access has been considered and evaluated.
• Recreational and commercial fishers cannot keep female crab, and central coast First Nations leadership discourage their members from retaining female crab.
• First Nation FSC fishers on the central coast have observed declines in their catch rates of legal male crabs since the 1990s (Ban et al. 2017). Their observations also indicate that declines accelerated in the early 2000s as commercial fishing effort in the central coast increased, and as recreational fishers began to navigate through the smaller bays and inlets.
• The following management actions have been implemented: 11 locations for commercial year-round crab fishing closures, 15 locations for recreational, year-round crab fishing closures, and two summer recreational closures.
• Commercial and recreational stakeholders have raised concerns about the level of engagement they have had in the process and are seeking a broader discussion with the department on their role in collaborative processes between Canada and First Nations. The CCCCMP is committed to working with the commercial and recreational stakeholders in the central coast. The CCCCMP partners will be continuing to engage public stakeholders to improve catch reporting in recreational fisheries.
• The Pacific Region has developed a strategy for engaging stakeholders in reconciliation related initiatives, and long-term reconciliation agreements and treaties. Furthermore, as new fisheries and collaborative governance arrangements will be developed and implemented through the FRRA, DFO will work in partnership with First Nations to engage commercial, recreational and other stakeholders.

None