Whale Worries: Could AIS Tags be the Answer?
If there was ever any debate before, the question is now unequivocally answered, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is officially off Atlantic Canada’s Christmas card list.
As if the lobster and snow crab industries in this region were not already having a challenging enough season, in early September, the California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium really stepped up to add insult to injury.
As part of its Seafood Watch Program, the organization arbitrarily added American lobster and Canadian snow ...
What’s the Problem with Pelagics?
What is going on with the once plentiful and lucrative pelagics fisheries in Atlantic Canada?
Fishermen is this region of the Northwest Atlantic have been harvesting herring, mackerel, capelin and squid, for both food and all-important bait, for centuries. In fact, the multi-billion-dollar lobster and snow crab fisheries would never have developed into the monster industries they are today without the use of lowly pelagics as bait.
Even today, as many companies are foraging and research...
Review Ordered for N.L. Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act
After an embattled 2022 fishing season, with little or no signs of letting up, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act is about to be put under the microscope — again.
On July 21, N.L. Labour Minister Bernard Davis announced an independent review of the collective bargaining model contained in sections 19.1–19.14 of the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act. David Conway, former chair of the Labour Relations Board, has been appointed to undertake the ...
The Challenges of Making Ends Meet
The late English comedian Les Dawson once said, “The way prices are rising, the good old days are last week.”
It appears Atlantic Canadians’ fixation of talking about weather fluctuations has been overshadowed of late by tales of price fluctuations — fluctuations unfortunately headed in the wrong direction.
The price of practically everything has gone up and the fishing industry is no exception. Just ask any lobster fishermen in the region.
During the summer of 2020, fishermen ...
The By-Products of Warming Waters
“I’m glad it’s finally hot enough to complain about how hot it is.”
Atlantic Canadians love and hate their weather. For generations, due to our specific geography, the weather has always been the number one topic of conversation. Lately, nearly all conversations have centred on the oppressive heat.
Almost every region of Atlantic Canada, from Comfort Cove to Canso to Crapaud to Caraquet, have reported record high temperatures this summer. “Hotter than a two-dollar pistol,” ...
Moratorium Announced for 3Pn4RS Gulf Cod
Recreational Groundfish Fishery Will Continue in Impacted Regions
Ironically, just two days after the 30th anniversary of the infamous 2J3KL Northern cod moratorium, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) surprised some when it announced there will be no directed commercial fishing of Northern Gulf cod this year in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO division 3Pn4RS).
DFO said the moratorium was implemented because the Northern Gulf cod stocks are deep in the critical ...
Atlantic Seal Science Task Team Report Well Received
Seals chowing down on lucrative, commercial fish species in Atlantic Canadian continues to be one of the biggest worries and complaints harvesters in the region have — but argue that their concerns are falling on deaf ears.
However, is that finally about to change?
In May, Federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray, released the report from the Atlantic Seal Science Task Team (ASSTT).
The Task Team was established in March 2020 to gather input on science activities and programs related ...
Product Pricing Creating N.L. Industry Friction
Disputes and disagreements over prices are nothing new in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing industry — in fact, some would call them the norm.
However, a few months ago, this year had the promise of being a little different, as N.L. harvesters were anticipating record or near record price for snow crab and maybe even Northern shrimp. But things are not quite going as planned.
Earlier this year, in N.L., where the crab price is chosen through a collective bargaining process by the ...
Herring Fishery in Risk Management Mode
The 2022 Atlantic Canada pelagics fishery is in a tailspin.
The March 30 announcement by Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Minister Joyce Murray that there will be no directed commercial or bait fishing for southern Gulf spring herring and a complete closure of the Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Québec sent shockwaves through the fishing industry.
Now, the lucrative Bay of Fundy herring industry is doing its best to avoid further quota cut bombshells and ...
Has Politics Overshadowed Autonomy?
Scottish academic and philosopher Gordon Graham once said, “decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.”
Right now, it is a little too early to analyze the outcome of the recent decision to award more snow crab processing licences in Newfoundland and Labrador, but there appears to be quite a bit of collateral damage surrounding this controversial call.
On May 24, N.L. Fisheries Minister Derrick ...
