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About the UHA
About the UHA | About the UHA |
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The geoduck and horse clam license holders of British Columbia, Canada
founded the UHA in 1981. The UHA membership includes most participants
in the fishery, namely the 55 licence holders, crew members from
harvesting vessels, and all of the major wholesalers of geoduck in
British Columbia.
UHA members are a progressive group actively involved in the management
of their fishery. This Canadian West Coast fishery is a co-management
success story. Initially, the UHA contracted an independent company to carry out a geoduck dockside monitoring program in 1989 to provide the financially strapped Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) with data from the fishery. This monitoring program was an essential component of the switch to an individual quota (IQ) fishery. Since then, the UHA has voluntarily expanded their role in co-management. The UHA now pays for a large percentage of the entire management cost of their fishery. UHA funding, which comes from annual membership fees paid by each license holder, provides money for numerous programs. 
The co-management program consists of; providing monitoring assistance
to the DFO, funding biologists, providing enhancement activities, and
participating in policy oriented activities. Firstly, the UHA provides
DFO with personnel and assistance to collect survey data and conduct
geoduck life history research. Secondly, the contract with Archipelago
Marine Research Ltd. (www.archipelago.bc.ca)
initiated by the UHA in 1989 to monitor the fishery has expanded. This
program ensures that 100% of all geoduck landed are validated by an
independent port monitor and includes on grounds fisheries observers
for 90% of the fishery, and the collection of numerous samples.
Thirdly, the UHA funds four full time biologists (two consultants and
four DFO positions), a number of part-time consultants, and pays for
extensive PSP testing. Fourthly, and most recently, the UHA has
invested in its future by initiating a long-term enhancement program in
which seed (hatchery raised juvenile geoducks) are planted and
monitored to augment wild populations and ensure a viable long-term
fishery. Finally, members of the UHA also participate in a number of
steering committees and advisory groups in order to communicate with
DFO and assist with management decisions. Aside from these activities
the UHA also participates in other aspects of co-management as
situations arise and in generic marketing of geoduck from Canada.
The UHA’s commitments are mutually beneficial to the resource, the
industry and the DFO. They ensure that DFO has the tools and
information to manage the geoduck clam fishery. Co-management also
decreases the burden on the Canadian tax payer because unlike most
fisheries, funds for the operation of the fishery come primarily from
industry. This progressive fishery has evolved into a model for the
development of other co-managed fisheries. The UHA is a founding member
of the B.C. Seafood Alliance: www.bcseafoodalliance.com |
