| dc.description.abstract | In 1976 the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada was overfished and in decline. In response, Canada’s federal government implemented a “moonlighter policy” which designated fishers who had employment outside the fishery as a Class B license holder, differentiating them from full-time commercial fishers operating Class A licenses. Under this new designation, their trap numbers were reduced to one-third of the number allowed under a Class A license and, unlike the Class A licenses, the transfer of the license was prohibited, requiring them to be retired with the license holder. As these Class B fishers are aging into retirement, many have requested this policy be amended. They claim the policy is no longer necessary given the present state of the fishery and that the policy deprives them from entering the lucrative lobster license market.
This research reviews the history of the moonlighter policy and examines its implications on individual fishers who were reclassified as Class B through a series of semi-structured interviews with six Class B license holders and their families. Through the experiences and perceptions of these fishers, this study explores the concept of fairness in relation to the policy, its impact on the fishery, and discusses why it has created a humiliating institution.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) continues to uphold this policy despite robust evidence of stock recovery and sustainability, commercial prosperity of the fishery, and public outcry. It is the recommendation of this paper that the DFO immediately review its policy and rescind its prohibition on the transfer of Class B licenses.
Keywords: fairness; sustainability; Atlantic Canada; property; livelihood; policy review; judicial review; procedural fairness; substantive fairness; management; economics | en_US |
