Fisheries committee  I think the bill greatly improves the ability to argue for change in B.C. The inclusion of social, economic, and cultural factors...there are many ways in which it lays a foundation that will make it much easier to argue for change. Implementing it, however, depends on policy and regulation change, and that's going to be a tougher conversation.

Fisheries committee  It's the licence as well. They're both openly transferable. Anyone, really, can buy and use a licence or a quota.

Fisheries committee  Very briefly, but not long enough to present any analysis on it.

Fisheries committee  I'm aware of it, yes. I've looked at it. I just have not dug into it, as you say.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  The whole value chain is impacted by the policy in B.C. Sea urchin is going for a very high wholesale market price, and fish harvesters are not only not getting a share of that wholesale value; they're also not getting a share of the landed value. For the most part, they can't afford to lease the licence, so they're just being paid wages to fish at very low wages.

Fisheries committee  It's very hard to get exact numbers, but increasingly the shift is towards those who are non-active, because the incentive is that you can now make more money by being the leaser. If you as a fisherman originally get the quota, there's a strong incentive over time that either you sell that, because you can make a lot of money on it, or your next generation may lease it.

Fisheries committee  I think the barrier felt by a lot of the people we work with on the coast is the very large corporate lobby. There is another opinion out there, and I'm sure you will hear about it at some point during the hearings. I hope you remember these testimonies, because you will probably hear people say, and probably have heard people say, that things are fine.

Fisheries committee  That's also why I think both Duncan and I tried to bring some numbers here today. We do have numbers that show through statistics, not just stories, that incomes are declining and jobs are declining.

Fisheries committee  I would add that the benefit of local fisheries—

Fisheries committee  Fair enough.

Fisheries committee  It's concentrated in certain fisheries.

Fisheries committee  I would agree with Duncan. I will add that I think there are some very strong principles around how this can be applied in policy reform in that report I referenced. I don't have them all listed in my head right now, so I won't try to repeat them. I will emphasize the need for a fair and transparent process and the need for that responsible and respectful transition.

Fisheries committee  It was an individual. The name is known, but people are afraid to pass information on because they're afraid of being blacklisted.

Fisheries committee  I was not.