Options Aplenty for Northern Cod
Some pundits might argue that there are nearly as many opinions of what to do with the iconic Northern cod as there are actual fish in the ocean.
While that might be a mild exaggeration, proposals and theories are aplenty once again, especially since the latest stock assessment from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
After a supposed setback last year, DFO recently reported that the Northern cod stock off eastern Newfoundland appears to be in better shape than initially ...
The Twine Loft – July 2019
Passed On: Robert Colbourne – St. Lunaire-Griquet, N.L. fisherman
Colbourne, 52, passed away on May 28. He was born on April 25, 1967 to Eliza and Winston Colbourne and was the youngest of three children. He worked hard to provide for his family, unselfishly spending long periods of time at sea. He started fishing with his father when he was a teenager in L’Anse aux Meadows. After he was married, he went to Ontario for three summers sandblasting and painting. He then started fishing in ...
On the Waterfront – July 2019
Fatal Fishing Accident Off Labrador
A 52-year-old veteran Newfoundland fisherman died after falling overboard from an offshore fishing vessel on May 28.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) reported that the fisherman, identified as Robert Colbourne of St. Lunaire-Griquet, N.L., went overboard while working on the Newfoundland Victor about 400 kilometres northeast of Nain, between Labrador and Greenland.
The TSB has deployed a team of investigators to St. Anthony, Newfoundland and ...
2019 Crab and Lobster Overview
For the past 10 years, I have made an annual trip to New Brunswick following the Boston Seafood Show to discuss the market outlook for snow crab and lobster with harvesters and processors in a series of meetings around the province, sponsored by the Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Here are a few thoughts on those species.
Snow Crab
I heard from several people at the Boston Seafood show that sentiment on crab changed on the last day of the show.
At least two Japanese orders ...
Our People Problem
In last month’s Navigator, the Editor’s Notebook section provided an extensive discussion of plant worker shortages, referring to them as “a complex and stubborn dilemma.”
The discussion was largely based on research done by Food Processing Skills Canada. In this column, I will take that discussion in a different direction.
Plant worker shortages are certainly a well-known problem in Atlantic Canada. The shortages are widespread throughout the industry, but particularly acute in ...
Atlantic Herring Stocks Listed as Critical
Fishery No Longer Certified by Marine Stewardship Council
With the voluntary suspension by the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia (SPANS) of its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for the 4VWX herring purse seine fishery effective May 30, the herring fishery is no longer MSC-certified anywhere on Canada’s east coast.
Herring stocks in southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy had been relatively stable at a low level for many years, said Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) spokesp...
Mackerel Stocks Remain Low, DFO Reports
Despite a spawning stock biomass increase between 2016 and 2018, Atlantic mackerel “remains in the critical zone” says the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), with recruitment levels “at all-time lows” in 2017 and 2018.
“Since 2005, the spawning stock biomass index has declined and is now approximately one twentieth of the levels observed in the 1980s,” reads the summary of the latest stock assessment conducted in March, with the 2015 year class representing “75 ...
N.L. Inshore Northern Shrimp Quota Holding Its Own
After years of drastic cuts, this year’s much anticipated inshore Northern shrimp quota in fishing area 6 (SFA 6) was quietly announced without much fanfare and the news was actually positive.
Not only did inshore fishermen hang on to their quota levels from 2018, but there was a slight bump.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) recently announced that the total allowable catch (TAC) in SFA 6 will be increased by 2.6 per cent to 8,960 tonnes to maintain a 10 per cent exploitat...
Snow Crab Landing
The southside of St. John's harbour is bustling again this season as thousands of pounds of snow crab are landed there.
Photos by Jennifer Oake and Krista Jestican
It Must Have Been Really Quick – Part II
After refitting his longliner in the winter of 1994/95, Skipper Bob Stacey from St. Lawrence had a brand-new boat ready for the 1995 fishing season on the south coast of Newfoundland.
The Jessie Marie was even five feet longer than before the refit. One of the main reasons for the upgrade was to make the vessel suitable for scallop fishing.
Bob and his two-man crew fished the Jessie Marie for several months after the refit and for the most part, things went fairly well, but during a ...
