Capacity Building in

First Nations Commercial

Fishing Enterprises by Allen Tobey to National Aboriginal Fisheries Forum - II October, 2012

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Capacity Building

Topics:

• What is ‘capacity building’?

• Capacity Building in First Nations as result of assistance by PICFI and AICFI

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What is “Capacity Building”?

• Dictionary: Planned development of (or increase in) knowledge,

output rate, management, skills, and other capabilities of an organization through acquisition, incentives, technology, and/or training.

▫ Business Dictionary

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Thoughts on Capacity Building …

“Companies that fail to invest in employees jeopardize their own success and even survival.”

“Invest in your human capital and all else falls into place.”

Bassi and McMurrer

Training as part of Capacity Building

in a Commercial Fishing Enterprise

• Recognizing training needs;

• Meeting training needs;

• Training factors to be considered;

• Fisheries Training Plan;

• Methods of Training

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Recognizing Training Needs

• Commercial Fishing Enterprise (CFE) Management (Boards, Governance, etc.)

• Day-to-Day Operational Management

• Fish Harvesting Fish Harvesters

At-sea Vessel Captains & Crews

Non-tidal waters harvesters

Shore Workers

Off-loading / fish handling

Maintenance

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Meeting Training Needs

• Importing Capacity Hiring experienced personnel from outside

Key supervisory positions

• Training & Mentoring Skills and knowledge transfer

• Gaining Experience Time

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• Regulatory Requirements: Current Federal or Provincial workplace and Marine

Safety requirements; ▫ Marine (salt water) environments

▫ Aquaculture sites

▫ Non-Tidal (fresh water) environments

Training and certification of vessel and equipment operators;

Training of crew members / workers.

Training Factors to be Considered

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Training Factors to be Considered

• Identified skills needs: Fish harvesters;

▫ Vessel operation, Fishing operation, Seamanship, Fishing gear maintenance, Vessel maintenance, Supervising crew members, Catch handling and stowage, etc.

Shore-based dock workers, trucking and plant workers;

CFE office workers, Managers and Board Members;

Introduction of a new fishing method;

Introduction of youth/younger generation to the industry.

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Other Considerations

• Number of workers required for fishing operations;

• Number of workers available to fill identified roles;

• Current skills & abilities;

• Training and Certification achieved to date;

• Gap analysis;

• Training & Certification priorities

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Fisheries Training Plan

• Documenting Capacity Building progress; Effective means of organizing information:

Describes the current situation (context), Vessels, licenses, fishing areas, etc.

Who are the available Fish Harvesters,

Training & certification achieved to date,

Who is qualified to take on responsibilities,

What training is needed,

Referenced for funding proposals for training,

Must be kept up-to-date.

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Methods of Training

• In Class Training Usually provided by recognized Training Providers,

▫ Private Career or Community College Systems

▫ School of Fisheries

▫ Marine Training Institutions

▫ Recognized by Regulatory Authorities (TC, IC, etc.)

Marine Safety (MED, First Aid, Radiotelephone),

Wheelhouse (SVOP, FMC4, WKM-FV, SEN-L, etc.),

Deckhand (seamanship, gear maintenance, etc.),

Equipment operation (cranes, winches, forklift, etc)

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Methods of Training

• Mentoring (gaining experience) Transfer of knowledge from the ‘experienced’ to the

‘inexperienced’ ,

Informal or formal process,

At Sea (vessel operation, fishing operation, etc.),

Dockside (seamanship, gear maintenance, vessel &

mechanical maintenance, etc.),

Opportunity for CFE to customize training for a

particular need.

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Training Results

• Considered ‘Very Successful’

• PICFI – training conducted from 2010 to 2012 New program and processes

25 FN-CFEs involved

• AICFI – training conducted from 2008 to 2012 Continued a process developed in previous

programs

26 FN-CFEs involved

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British Columbia First Nations

• Marine Safety* Marine Emergency Duties (MED) - 455

Marine First Aid - 429

Radiotelephone Operation - 387

• Deckhand * Seamanship/Gear Maintenance - 50

Commercial Diver - 2

* Some projected results due to incomplete reporting

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BCFN (con’t)

• Wheelhouse * SVOP - 432

FMC4 (classroom topics only) - 59

Master Limited - 5

FMC3 - 1

SEN-L - 41

* Some projected results due to incomplete reporting

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BCFN (con’t)

• FishSAFE BC programs: FV Stability Education - 48

Safest Catch - 4

Safe-on-the-Wheel - 8

• Management:

CFE Management - 108

Youth Recruitment - 18

• In-River: In River Specific - 102

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BCFN (con’t)

• Mentoring (formal process)* Deployments - 40

Trainees - 240

Mentors - 66

Mentoring Days - 677

Trap, Longlining, Seining, Vessel Maintenance,

Outboard Engine Maintenance, Seamanship,

Fishing Gear Maintenance

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BCFN (con’t)

• Summary* Students - 2,393

Successful Completions - 2,224

Days of In-Class Training - 1,725

Mentoring Days - 677

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Mi’kmaq Maliseet First Nations

• Marine Safety Marine Emergency Duties (MED) - 350

Marine First Aid - 612

Radiotelephone Operation - 135

• Deckhand Seamanship/Gear Maintenance - 25

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MMFN (con’t)

• Wheelhouse Small Vessel Operator Proficiency - 78 (4 day)

Inshore Vessel Operator - 99 (15 day)

FMC4 (all modules) - 94

FMC4 (assorted modules) - 19

FMC3 - 2

WKM-FV - 7

SEN-L - 85

Vessel/Mech. Maintenance - 13

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MMFN (con’t)

• Mentoring (formal process) Deployments - 31

Trainees - 92

Mentors - 65

Mentoring Days - 2044

Lobster, Snow Crab, Shrimp, Gaspereau Trap,

Rock Crab, Mackerel, Turbot & Urchin

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MMFN (con’t)

• Summary Students - 1,740

Successful Completions - 1,614

Days of In-Class Training - 1,674

Mentoring Days - 2,044

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Capacity Building Results

• To Summarize this data:

▫ Over 4,100 fish harvesters attended more than 6,100 days of training and mentoring yielding:

Over 750 trained & certified fishing vessel operators;

Over 800 fish harvesters trained how to respond to marine emergencies (MED);

Over 1,000 fish harvesters trained in First Aid;

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Capacity Building Results

Over 500 certified Marine Radiotelephone Operators;

Over 100 fish harvesters trained in the use of Navigation Electronics using the latest in Computer Simulation;

Over 50 individuals attend specialized programs designed by the fishing industry in topics like Fishing Vessel Stability, Responding to Emergencies and Standing a Wheel Watch;

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Capacity Building Results

Over 325 new deckhands were mentored in to the fishing industry;

Deckhands were taught seamanship and fishing gear maintenance;

Specialized programs were conducted for In-River Fisheries Enterprises;

CFE administration were taught management and computer skills.

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These are some of the efforts that First Nations Commercial Fisheries Enterprises on the West and East Coasts have been doing in BUILDING CAPACITY within their Communities.

Thank you

Allen Tobey Technical Advisor for Fisheries Training

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