Certification System and Upgrading Criteria for Professional Fish Harvesters
1. Fish harvesters will be certified by the Board under one of three categories.
These categories are:
(a) Apprentice Fish Harvester;
(b) Professional Fish Harvester Level I; and,
(c) Professional Fish Harvester Level II.
2. All new entrants will enter the harvesting sector as an Apprentice Fish Harvester and must meet the general certification/renewal criteria and the additional criteria for eligibility for certification as an Apprentice Fish Harvester. The additional criteria for eligibility for certification are:
(a) an Apprentice Fish Harvester must be sponsored by a certified professional owner/operator or a certified professional skipper on a recognized fishing enterprise; and,
(b) an Apprentice Fish Harvester will be required to complete a basic safety course (DVS, SDV-BS or equivalent). The safety course requirement must be fulfilled at the earliest opportunity and no later than by the commencement of the Apprentice Fish Harvester’s second year of fishing.
3. A professional fish harvester can advance from Apprentice Fish Harvester to Professional Fish Harvester Level I, and from Professional Fish Harvester Level I to Professional Fish Harvester Level II.
4. When an Apprentice Fish Harvester is able to demonstrate that they meet the General Certification/Renewal of Certification Criteria as defined in Section 1 and the additional criteria for certification upgrading, they may be certified as a Professional Fish Harvester Level I. The additional criteria for upgrading are:
(a) 60 land-based education credits (minimum 5 credits in Basic Safety); and,
(b) 2 years of full-time fishing activity on a Newfoundland and Labrador based
fishing enterprise; and,
(c) be a provincial resident of Newfoundland and Labrador during all years of qualifying full-time fishing activity.
5. When a Professional Fish Harvester Level I is able to demonstrate that they meet the general certification/renewal of certification criteria as defined in Section 1 and the additional criteria for certification upgrading, they may be certified as a Professional Fish Harvester Level II. The additional criteria for upgrading are:
(a) 60 additional land-based education credits (minimum 10 credits in Navigation); and,
(b) 3 additional years of full-time fishing activity; and,
(c) be a provincial resident of Newfoundland and Labrador during the most recent 2 years of qualifying full-time fishing activity.
6. The term “full-time fishing activity” means the fishing activity of a fish harvester who fishes on a commercial basis for the entire fishing season, and earns 75% (minimum $5,000) of their income during the fishing season from commercial fishing. The term “fishing season” generally means the period from April 1st until September 1st in each year. However, the Board recognizes that the fishing season can vary from region to region and from fishery to fishery, and the Board may apply a 30-day grace period (before, during or after the defined fishing season) to allow for these variations.
7. All credit courses relied upon for the purpose of certification upgrading must be approved by the Board. In addition to fisheries-related courses, the Board may also award credit for courses completed in other marine related or relevant fields, or consider acceptable course combinations. A list of Board accredited training programs is referenced in the attached Appendix A.