1. Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries
A big business for small communities

2. $1.8 billion in landed value 2011
Pelagics
5%
Other shellfish
9%
Lobster
34%
Groundfish
10%
Shrimp
17%
Crab
25%
Big three = $1.4 billion or 76 %

3. Distribution of
landed value
Corporate
25%
Owner
operators
75%

4. Why do owner-operators have so
much of the value?
Groundfish
?
Pelagics
?
Other
shellfish
?
Lobster
99%
Shrimp
60%
Crab
100%

5. It wasn’t always this way.
Pelagics
10%
Other
shellfish
10%
Groundfish
42%
Lobster
25%
Crab
5%
Shrimp
8%
Big Three = 38% of total value in 1990

6. Who are the owner-operators?

7. Not the same everywhere
Setting day Newfoundland
• Region ’s largest private sector employer
• 10,000 individual enterprises
• Employing 20,000 crew
• Almost entirely rural based
• All independently owned & operated
Setting day Sou’West Nova

8. Common policy framework
Common policy framework
Owner-Operator: have to fish licences personally
Fleet seperation: processors can’t hold o-o licences

9. Main threats
Weak policy enforcement
• Corporate predation
High investment costs for new
entrants
• licences and quotas
Low return on investments
• increasing operating costs
(fuel, bait, management)
• weak markets
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
Ind Core
2,000
Core
1,500
DFO promoting concentration
1,000
500
0
NS
NB
PEI
QC
NL

10. Age profile 2004
40%
35%
Atlantic
30%
Pacific
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
< 35
35 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 +

11. New entrants face higher investment costs
 Profits at least 25% lower for
new entrants
 Low profitability
• Drives out fishermen
• Requires higher efficiency….
builds pressure for
concentration & vertical
integration
1973-1983
1989-1998
2005-2011

12. Fleets opposed to vertical integration
Reduces dock-side competition & owner-operator
bargaining power
– Lower prices paid to independent harvesters
– Reduced resources to other processors / wholesalers
– Leads to concentration
Results in lower employment
– Less jobs in some communities
– Conflicts between communities
– Conflicts between provinces

13. Today’s Globe and Mail
Productivity overrated as a key to growth
“…focussing on efficiency at the expense of jobs
and hours worked could lead to ‘greater
unemployment, income loss and reduced wellbeing’.”
- Andrew Sharpe, Editor International Productivity Monitor

14. Fleets seeking alternatives
 Major fleet managed buybacks in last 2 years
 Looking at fleet managed
initiatives to facilitate
intergenerational transfers
 Exploring marketing and
branding to increase
revenues/incomes

15. Can social finance help?