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The Groundfish Development Authority

The Groundfish Development Authority (GDA) is responsible for ensuring that British Columbia's coastal communities benefit from the West Coast groundfish trawl industry. The body was created in 1997, when the Governments of Canada and BC began assigning groundfish trawl quota to individual licence holders.

Under the Groundfish Trawl Long-Term Management Plan introduced in 1997, 80 per cent of the groundfish (quota species) trawl, Gulf Hake and Offshore Hake (Onshore Delivery) Total Allowable Catches (TAC�s) were allocated as Individual Vessel Quotas (IVQ�s) and 20 per cent set aside for allocation by the Minister of Fisheries, subject to advice given to him by the Groundfish Development Authority (GDA).

The GDA was established as a result of an agreement reached between the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the Coastal Community Network (CCN) and fishing industry participants (processors and vessel owners). Since plan implementation, the Groundfish Trawl Special Industry Committee (GSIC) has periodically reviewed key elements of the plan. While the plan has remained substantially intact, selected recommendations by GSIC, accepted by the Minister, have altered quota reallocation rules and �fine tuned� the mechanics of the GDA.

The GDA and the Coastal Community Network

The Coastal Community Network, representing BC�s coastal communities, was instrumental in establishing the GDA and in the drafting of the Groundfish Trawl Long-Term Management Plan.

This was a first in fisheries management history: never before had a community organization been asked to take part in the formulation of a fishery management system. This particular system was designed to:

ensure fair crew treatment;
aid in regional development;
promote the attainment of stable market and employment conditions; and
encourage sustainable fishing practices.

Following lengthy discussions between all participants, the GDA Process was established, through which 10 per cent of the individual vessel quota (called the GDQ) was set aside by the Minister of Fisheries to be allocated back to licence holders to reflect the interests of the communities and the labour force. An additional 10 per cent (the CCQ) was added to the licence holders' allocation at the start of each fishing season. On the advice of the GDA a portion or all of this quota could be withdrawn from the licence should the licence holder be found to be treating crew members in an unfair manner.

For more information about the GDA and the GDA process, follow these links:

GDA Board of Directors and Advisors 2009

Groundfish Development Authority Operations Plan 2007-2008

Analysis of Quota Leasing in the Groundfish Trawl Industry: Prepared for the Canadian Groundfish Research and Conservation Society by Stuart Nelson, Nelson Bros Fisheries Ltd., in November 2006.

Commercial Industry Council Presentation to Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, March 8, 2006: Presentation to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on the CIC Groundfish Pilot Integration Proposal, a comprehensive industry plan supporting DFO�s sustainable management objectives for the groundfish resource.

B.C. Coastal Communities and the Groundfish Trawl Industry: In May 2001, the CCN and the GDA co-hosted a workshop to review the the GDA's role in the management of the BC groundfish and hake trawl industry. This report to the workshop was written by the CCN's former Executive Director Eric Enno Tamm.

Review of the Groundfish Trawl Individual Vessel Quota / Groundfish Development Authority Plan: Prepared in September 1999 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as the first phase of an industry review of the of the IVQ/GDA process, this report gives a summary of the system's elements, objectives, benefits and issues.


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Contact:

Charlie Minns, Executive Director

Groundfish Development Authority

356 Centennial Parkway
Delta, B.C. V4L 1K7
Tel: (604) 943-3320

Fax: (604) 943-1166

E-m: cminns@dccnet.com