The application form can be found here or can be requested from Ha’oom.

Each application form is for one season only. Crab season starts on April 1st each year and ends on March 31st the following year. Applications are accepted at any time throughout the season.

Crab applications open on February 1st and will continue to be reviewed throughout the season. You can send your application to Ha’oom by email or mail or by going to the Ha’oom office in person.

***Most participants will be awarded approximately 50 traps

Ha’oom Fisheries Society (HFS) administers various fishing licenses and quotas. At the current time, the level of fishing access available is higher than the demand for the access. As such, HFS is in a new position of having to allocate the access in an equitable, fair and transparent manner.

The License/Quota Decision Guide for Ha’oom Fisheries Society is a decision guide to assist the HFS Board of Directors in their determination. This decision guide is available to the fishers and provides a transparent approach to selection decisions.

Each participant that is selected will have the opportunity to have a 5-year trap guarantee to ensure economic viability. The average amount of traps that will be given to each participant will be 50 traps. Please note: license holders will have traps reallocated to other interested participants if not used within a designated period.

Please note: At this point in time, it is not economically viable to participate solely in this fishery

Entrance Costs: Depending on vessel and gear types (used or new), the average cost to enter this fishery is approximately $150,000 – $250,000.

Average Annual Revenues:
Average total pounds (lbs) caught per trap/year: 730 lbs
Average sale price/pound: $7.00
Average revenue per trap/year: $5,110

If you are allocated 50 traps, you could expect to make up to $127,750 per year (less operating costs).

Average Annual Expenses: Due to the nature of fishing, annual expenses vary greatly from operator to operator. These annual expenses include: insurance, deckhand wages, cost of gas for your boat, cost of replacing traps, etc. 

An electronic monitoring (EM) system is a requirement in the Five Nations’ right-based sale fishery for crab. This morning system will be installed on all vessels that are selected for crab fishing. The system will track where your traps are and will be monitored by Pacfish. The system is simple and small with no cameras. Each time you haul your traps the system will scan each trap to record the number of hauls and locations of each haul. The system can help to protect your traps from being hauled by another fisher if they are using the same system. Ha’oom will cover all costs for the monitoring system and will help you set it up.

Initial start-up approximate costs based on 2021:

Your Investment Time:

• Getting boat ready = 1 month
• Getting gear ready = 1 month

Vessel: $60,000 to $200,000
Traps:

• (new) $300.00/trap (rigged)
• (used) $50.00/trap (rigged)

Trap Lines: $15-$35
Longline Ropes: $250 per skate (10 trap strings)
Floats: $100 bladder/Scotchman (need 2 per line)
Cork Marker: $20 each
Cork paint: $150 (1 gallon per 40 traps)
Zincs: $10
Bait cups: $5 (Scotty bait cups last longer)
Hydraulic Hauler: $4,000
Holding container crates:

• $50 per container (plastic) 
• $100 per container (stainless steel)

Wire: $ 120 – 1 coil (for maintenance)
Rot cord: $60 – 1 coil (does 300 traps, replaced every three months)
Bait: $300 – per trip
Air pump: $1,000 (min)
Tote: $1,000
Truck: $20,000 (min) – ¾ ton (for hauling totes)

Please note: Gear will be a challenge to obtain for participants this year. Since Covid, there has been a shortage of crab gear supplies and most crab fishers are now trying to purchase used gear as it has been difficult to find new gear in the store.

Funding is available through Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation. Loans can be accessed with the submission of an application and business plan. For more information visit their website: https://www.nedc.info/

To be eligible for NEDC funding, applicants must:

• Be located in BC
• Age: Flexible, case by case basis
• Be Aboriginal with proof: Status Indian, Non-status Indian with proof such as a letter from their Nation, Inuit, or Métis individuals
• A credit check is required and should be reasonable
• The candidate must demonstrate that they have the necessary skills. The applicants must either demonstrate: a strong knowledge in the business field, or that they plan to have someone experienced to help them with their business, or that they are planning to partake in training.

Support letters can be provided to registered T’aaq-wiihak fishers (some exceptions may apply).