Status Quo for 2022 SFA 6 Shrimp Quota
DFO Under Fire for Substantial Reductions to Gulf Fishery
As was predicted, it appears inshore harvesters within Northeastern Newfoundland’s shrimp fishing area 6 (SFA 6) will have the same quota as last year.
On April 27, the Northern Shrimp Advisory Committee (NSAC) released its decision for the total allowable catch for Northern shrimp, with SFA 6 receiving a small cut of 1.1 per cent. Last year, SFA 6 fishermen were given a 15 per cent increase in the total allowable catch ...
The Twists and Turns of the 2022 Crab Season
The 2022 snow crab season in Atlantic Canada still might go down as the best ever, but it is certainly not playing out quite as predicted.
All winter, rumours of record crab prices of $10/pound plus were circulating far and wide. This, combined with anticipated quota increases, had many predicting the most lucrative crab season in Atlantic Canada — ever.
But like everything in the fishery, things are not exactly going as planned.
Firstly, on the quota front, fishermen did receive the ...
Are Whale Management Measures Levelling Off?
Have the federal government’s recent actions to help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear entanglements and collisions with vessels been working?
For now, they appear to be. The Departments of Fisheries, Oceans (DFO) and Transport announced in March that for two successive years, there have been no reported right whale deaths in Canadian waters.
This positive news was part of the federally mandated right whale fishery and vessel management measures for the ...
What Has Been Learned From Perils Past?
There must have been an underlying air of irony as groundfish industry stakeholders met in Barcelona, Spain on April 26 to discuss the ongoing Northern cod fishery improvement project (FIP).
Stakeholders included Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Marks & Spencer and Youngs Seafoods from the United Kingdom, Sysco France, High Liner Foods from Canada/United States and producer organizations in Canada, including Ocean Choice International, Icewater Seafoods, the Association of ...
Fishing Safety Knows No Boundaries or Borders
“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore” — Vincent Van Gogh.
Through many of his masterpieces, Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh had a genuine appreciation and empathy for the dangers faced by fishermen every time they set out on the water. Skip ahead more than a century to present day and commercial fishing is still a dangerous professional and tragically still ...
Little Change in SFA 6 Shrimp Stocks
SFA 4 Sees “Unprecedented” 150 Per Cent Increase
For the second consecutive year, the Northern shrimp stock off Newfoundland and Labrador’s northeast coast appears to be holding its own, including the all-important shrimp fishing area (SFA) 6.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) held a technical briefing recently regarding the 2022 Northern shrimp stock assessment and reported that the SFA 6 spawning stock and fishable biomasses only experienced a slight ...
Could 2022 Crab Season be Another Record Breaker?
Financially, the 2021 snow crab season was by far the best ever for the majority of harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador.
And, if early indications prove correct and of course the stars align, this upcoming crab season could possibly be even better.
With speculation abounding of fishermen possibly getting close to $10/pound for snow crab, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) Science Department confirmed recently what many already suspected — for the most part, the stocks ...
Seeing Red Over Lobster Fishery Proposal
From all reports, the lobster season in this region is chugging along and is on par with last year.
Speaking of last season, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) recently reported that lobster fishing areas (LFAs) 33 and 34 recorded landings of 27,395 tonnes, for an approximate landed value of $515 million. That total equates to a whopping 62 per cent of total Canadian landings of lobster.
There is no doubt that these are exciting times for the lobster fishery in Southwest Nova ...
Atlantic Canada’s Seafood Pivot
“Growth is never by mere chance, it is the result of forces working together” — James Cash Penney, founder, JC Penney.
The American businessman and department store entrepreneur might have been referring to the retail sector when he uttered those words decades ago, but one could argue that the same adage could be applied to the current Atlantic Canadian fishery.
The last few years have proven very lucrative for both seafood harvesters and processors in our region. One only has to ...
Breaking Down the Priorities
On December 16 of last year, Joyce Murray received the long-awaited marching orders from her boss.
Yes, on that day the fledgling Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard received her ministerial mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
While some onlookers might argue that a mandate letter is only a 30,000-foot snapshot of ministerial responsibilities and expectations, it actually sets the parameters and priorities the particular federal department will be ...
