Only about 13 inshore vessels pursue the thorny skate fishery in NAFO fishing division 3Ps each year.
For other fleets in the groundfish fisheries, it’s a bycatch.
“The skate fishery in 3Ps is pursued by both inshore mobile-gear and inshore fixed-gear licence holders,” said Robin Jahn, communications advisor for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“The directed fishery typically opens to inshore mobile-gear licence holders in April and to inshore fixed-gear licence holders in May of each year. Specific opening dates are determined in accordance with the Conservation Harvesting Plan for these fleets and in consultation with industry.”
Jahn said generally, “a relatively small number of inshore mobile-gear licence holders participate in the skate fishery in 3Ps each year, three licence holders or less. The number of inshore fixed-gear licence holders that participate in the skate fishery in 3Ps is variable, but since 2011 has averaged 10 licence holders per year.”
The total allowable catch (TAC) for thorny skate in 3Ps has remained at 1,050 tonnes since 1997 and will be maintained at this level in 2021–22, said Jahn.
“From the TAC, the inshore fixed-gear less than 35 feet and 35–64-foot fleets are each allocated 250 tonnes, the fixed-gear over 65-foot sector is allocated 100 tonnes and the mobile-gear sector is allocated 450 tonnes. Total annual landings by all fleets from 2012 to 2017 were less than 450 tonnes, which increased to an annual average of 935 tonnes in 2018–19 and 2019–20 and then declined to 499 tonnes in 2020–21.”
According to the June 2020 Assessment of Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata Donovan, 1808) in NAFO Divisions 3LNO and subdivision 3Ps by M.R. Simpson and C.M. Miri, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, thorny skate came under quota regulation in 1995, after a directed skate fishery was established in 1994 by Canada in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
A TAC of 5,000 tonnes for divisions 3LNO and 1,000 tonnes for subdivision 3Ps were adopted by Canada in 1995. In 1996, the TAC was raised to 6,000 tonnes for 3LNO and 2,000 tonnes for 3Ps. In 1997, the TAC was reduced to 1,950 tonnes for 3LNO and 1,050 tonnes for 3Ps, where it has been maintained.
In 3LNO, outside Canada’s EEZ, catch was unregulated until September 2004, when the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Fisheries Commission set a TAC of 13,500 tonnes for 2005 to 2009, which was lowered to 12,000 tonnes for 2010–2011 and to 8,500 tonnes for 2012. Since then, the TAC has been maintained at 7,000 tonnes.
From 2012 to 2018, an average of 3,805 tonnes of thorny skate has been landed from 3LNO.
Thorny skate are harvested for human consumption and for the manufacture of fish meal. The management period for thorny skate and other groundfish stocks in 3Ps runs annually from April 1 to March 31.
