SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The phrase "gone fishin'" typically suggests one has opted out of the work-a-day world but for close to 100 people in communities around Great Slave Lake, it signifies quite the opposite.
Lake trout, inconnu, lake whitefish, and burbot are among the species of fish caught by commercial fishers in Great Slave Lake. - NNSL file photo |
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has issued more than 80 commercial fishing licences for the current and upcoming seasons this year.
A resident commercial fishing license, which costs $5 and is usually issued within 10 business days, entitles its holder to fish on Great Slave Lake and sell the catch to a licensed operation that in turn sells to a fish plant. Fishers who obtain their own a vessel tickets can sell directly to the fish plants themselves.
"If it's a license renewal we can usually do it within a couple of days, but if it's a new application it could take up to two weeks because there's a review committee that has to review it for new applicants," said Larry Dow, director of Northern operations for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the NWT.
During the winter fishery, an A certificate refers to a large vehicle over 20,000 kilograms such as a truck or a Bombardier that transports fishers and their catch over the ice.
A B Certificate licences a snowmobile for use in the commercial fishery.
In summer, an A Certificate applies to a vessel longer than 9.23 metres and a B Certificate covers smaller crafts.
An A Certificate costs $50 and a B Certificate costs $25.
"If people meet the requirements we encourage them to apply because there's lots of certificates available and the fishery is a huge fishery," said Dow.
"There are numerous certificates available. It's not an issue for new entrants."
Up until 2003, all of the 90 available Class A and Class B fishing vessel certificates were taken for the summer fisheries. In 2013, only 39 were in use, according to GNWT statistics.
As of press time, 26 A Certificates were available for this year's winter season.
In recent years, the number of commercial fishing licences issued for Great Slave Lake has hovered close to 100 following years of slow decline, said Dow.
"The last few years have been basically the same," he said.
"It started (declining) in the early 1990s. There's been a gradual decline and I know there's a lot of hope for the fishery to re-emerge and be successful as it once was. It's still successful, but there's a lot of room there for it to grow. That's what we're here for."
