We have many successes, BFC says

I read with great interest your editorial “A different kind of fishing derby,” Feb. 4. However there are several issues that need to be clarified, as follows:

“Net dragging destroying the ocean bottom” — There is no evidence that this is happening in Nunavut waters. In fact, there has not been any research done in Nunavut waters to support this claim. There is no evidence that net-dragging destroyed the Newfoundland cod fishery, but rather it was possibly a combination of a number of variables: periods of overfishing by many stakeholders; increased abundance of seals; and environmental conditions, just to name a few.

“This is our fish and the Inuit need to protect it from interests like the BFC, who want to take as much as they can and leave us eventually with nothing” — I wish to remind everyone that BFC shareholders are all Inuit-owned organizations, all located in Nunavut. Furthermore, BFC supports the philosophy of keeping the overall 0A turbot allocations at a very low level until the research has been done to support increased allocations. With a biomass of 113,000 tonnes and 0A allocations at 4,000 tonnes, we are indeed fishing with conservation in mind.

“There is no guarantee that BFC will survive” — We take exception to this comment, in particular if you look at the objectives of BFC and what it has achieved. It has been a great success, as follows:

• It raised Nunavut’s profile in the fishing industry in Atlantic Canada, the industry now knows where Nunavut stands on the issues of allocations of shrimp and turbot in its adjacent waters, and the unfairness it has received in the past. We are now organized, more vocal and fighting for an increase in Nunavut’s share of its adjacent resources. Only by being united can we continue to make such progress. Through the efforts of BFC and the Nunavut Fisheries Working Group made up of NTI, NWMB, and the GN, Nunavut’s share of its adjacent fishery resources has increased from less than 20 per cent in 2001 to some 38 per cent in 2004. This is real progress.

• Increased employment levels on the fishing vessels. We now have increased Inuit crews on the Inuksuk 1 who are now on a rotation basis on the vessel. Not only will they fish in Nunavut’s adjacent waters but also stay on the vessel when it fishes in the South during the winter months.

• Carried out a number of training programs over the last three years. We championed a longer term training proposal to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada for $5.4 million. This program has been approved and will start in mid-February, it will not only focus on workers on the factory floors, but a plan that will work towards moving Inuit into managerial and technical positions on the vessels. We should also add that BFC has committed a financial contribution to this long term training plan of over $1 million. The key to our overall success is having our people trained properly.

• We have chartered a factory freezer vessel for two years with an option to buy it. By chartering first, as opposed to buying it outright, it gives us the opportunity to see first-hand the costs of running factory freezing fishing vessels. Based on this sound financial information from actual harvesting results we can then make business decisions, and as such decrease our risk in the operation of this or any other factory vessel.

• We have set aside $2 million into a vessel acquisition account to be used for our equity investment once we make the decision to acquire a vessel or vessels. Only by investing in such a venture can you control your own destiny and make the decisions in running your own operations.

• We have set up a $500,000 research and exploratory fishery fund and through this fund have supported many projects over the last three years that will benefit the development of the fisheries in Nunavut. In 2004, we contributed over $100,000 towards a $600,000 0A turbot survey. The results of this survey were encouraging and as a result it is quite likely that we could see an increase in the overall 0A turbot allocations in 2006. BFC is on record as saying that it would support communities like Qikiqtarjuaq to receive a portion of any increase in 0A turbot allocations.

BFC has a sound business plan, and if you look at the great success it has achieved to date, why would it not succeed in the future?

There has to be a sector champion and BFC has filled that role. Do you not measure the success of any business by how successful it has been in meeting its goals and objectives? Based on these criteria BFC has been a great success.

Ben Kovic, President
Baffin Fisheries Coalition