Common use of Base Case Clause in Contracts

Base Case. As of the 1996 Census, fishing-related activities provided about 8% of the personal incomes of Plan Area residents Also, First Nations residing in the Plan Area have historically depended heavily on a wide range of salmon and non-salmon fisheries for food, social, economic, and ceremonial purposes, and are also major local participants in the commercial fishing industry within the Plan Area. As of 1997, Plan Area residents held 113 commercial salmon “A” and “N” licenses and 13 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ spawn-on-kelp “J” licenses. Thirteen additional commercial salmon “F” licenses were held communally by resident First Nations in the Plan Area. These licenses generated an estimated 300 known seasonal jobs, with about two thirds of these in salmon and one third in ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ spawn-on-kelp. The majority of license holders live in the northern portion of the Plan Area, specifically in Bella Bella. There are several small processing facilities in the Plan Area, but most of the catch is processed elsewhere. Due to consolidation within the processing sector, declining prices, declining salmon catch levels, and DFO’s fleet reduction program, employment in this industry has fallen significantly in recent years throughout coastal BC. A recent report for the BC Job Protection Commission identified the Central Coast as being within the top 15 impacted areas in the province. First Nations groups within the Plan Area were particularly affected by the reductions. As a result of the continuing decline in populations of some species of BC salmon, on June 19, 1998 the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans announced a Coho Recovery Plan and the 1998 Salmon Management Plan. This plan will require highly selective fishing methods and “catch and release” policies for coho specifically. To ease transition, the Pacific Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring Program has committed $400 million to help rebuild the resource, restructure the salmon fishery and assist people and communities to adjust to the dramatic changes that are occurring. The short term outlook for the salmon industry of the province as a whole and the Plan Area region is generally poor from both a harvest level and price perspective. Conservation concerns for weaker stocks (e.g., coho and chinook) and changes in the ocean environment likely will limit overall salmon catches to relatively low levels for the foreseeable future. Key management concerns for salmon include addressing the common property resource problem and improving selection harvesting. In addition to salmon and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ spawn-on-kelp, other important fisheries harvested for commercial and sustenance purposes in the Plan Area include clams (the Heiltsuk have a community-based license), crabs, prawns, geoduck, red sea urchins, sea cucumbers, shrimp, scallops, octopus, and numerous types of groundfish. Participation and catch levels for these species has increased significantly in recent years, as harvest levels for salmon have declined.