Northern Cod Stock Growth Continuing: Report
Reasons Cited Include Low Fishing Levels, More Capelin
Amid all the worry and fighting surrounding the province’s declining shellfish fisheries over the past couple of years, the Northern cod stock has been quietly emerging from near annihilation and reclaiming its traditional ocean grounds and annual migration routes.
And while those with a stake in the fishing industry search for a way forward in a world with less crab and shrimp to share, some have been turning their gaze toward the ...
Ocean Farming in 3-D
Former Newfoundlander Making Eco-Friendly Waves in the U.S.
Bren Smith would love to see his 3-D ocean farm model set up around the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
It would be one piece of the puzzle in solving the province’s current economic problems, he says, and offset the decline in key commercial fishing stocks such as crab and shrimp, and the northern cod moratorium.
In fact, Smith’s vision of the future fisherman is one not chasing fish at all, but farming it.
“That ...
Sealers Upbeat About This Year’s Hunt
Crab Season, Ability to Attract Young People Kept Some Away
Those involved in the annual seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador this spring have been encouraged by the success of the season, even if it is still on a much smaller scale than it was a decade ago.
About 60,000 harp seals were taken in the commercial hunt, about 25,000 more than last year — but still a far cry from the total allowable catch (TAC) of 400,000 animals.
Ronald Tiller of Newtown, Bonavista Bay, said he and his ...
Offshore, Inshore Shrimp Fleets Elevate Debate Through Public Campaigns
An important report on the future of the province’s northern shrimp fishery is expected to land on federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo’s desk by the middle of this month.
In it a ministerial advisory panel will offer advice to Tootoo on whether his department should continue, modify or abolish the controversial Last In, First Out (LIFO) policy for that fishery. If abolished, it is expected to offer advice on what kind of sharing arrangement between the inshore and offshore ...
Fishing Under a Shell of Worry: Crab Season Might be a Struggle in Many Areas, Despite Good Price
This season’s price for snow crab is the best ever negotiated between the organizations representing processing companies and crab fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador.
At $3 per pound, it offers fishermen hope and a chance to make a go of it, despite lower quotas and worry about the future of the declining crab resource.
“We’ve never gone over $2.50 (per pound) in a negotiated settlement. That was back in 1995. We got up to $2.45 last year,” said Bill Broderick, inshore ...
Shrimp Science, Policy Under Critical Review: Sharp Decline in Stock Sparks Action and Debate
It’s one of the smallest species being fished in Newfoundland and Labrador waters, but this spring it is the subject of one of the biggest controversies to be had in the province’s fishery in years.
Shrimp has become a key stock in maintaining the fishing industry in waters off the north and northeast parts of the island and southern Labrador.
But the shrimp stock has been in decline for a number of years and a stock status update released in February by the Department of Fisheries ...
It’s Not Just Pot Luck: Cod Pots a Proven Option for Future Groundfish Fishery, Foundation, Chair Says
It sounds like a relatively simple process — toss a baited cod pot over the side of your boat, steam back later and pull in live cod, land it, get it processed and off to market.
It works with crab and lobster, right?
But for cod, it’s not that simple. Cod simply were never caught that way — at least, not commercially.
A demonstration project on Fogo Island off Newfoundland's northeast coast, however, has proven over the past seven years or so that cod potting is an exciting ...
Eyes on South Coast Cod: Latest Assessment Raises Concerns About 3Ps Stock
There is a disturbing trend in the health of the cod stocks off Newfoundland’s south coast.
Despite low levels of fishing in recent years, the stock in fishing zone 3Ps has not been as healthy or progressing as well as fisheries scientists would like to see.
While not in any immediate danger of collapse, the mortality rate has been gradually increasing over the past number of years and the latest Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) stock status assessment — released in February ...
