Concerns have been raised over the health of the Northern shrimp stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The situation is dire enough for some, like the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government located on the border of Québec and New Brunswick, that they are calling for a moratorium on the fishery after participating in it for over 20 years.
In an interview with the CBC, the associate director of natural resources for the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG) Danny Isaac said that less than 40 per cent of their total allowable catch for Gulf shrimp was caught this year. This prompted the LMG to participate in a roundtable meeting with Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (DFO), alongside industry representatives from Québec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
One of the industry partners present at the meeting was N.L.’s Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW). According to the Secretary-Treasurer of the FFAW, Jason Spingle, the union has been involved in what he called the “shrimp crises” for several years now.
“We’ve seen this coming, but I guess it’s declined more rapidly and more dramatically than anyone really thought it would,” said Spingle.
Spingle said some agreed-upon factors that play into the population crisis facing Gulf shrimp include climate change and the resurgence of the once-abundant redfish population, which prey upon shrimp in the area. He said that while harvesters and DFO agree on these prevailing factors, there is some contention as to which one is playing a larger role in the Gulf shrimp population.
“Harvesters believe that redfish are having more of an impact and DFO kind of leans toward the environment as just as important as the predation,” said Spingle. “In the last couple of years, which is unprecedented with Gulf shrimp, we haven’t taken the TACs that have been available to harvesters.”
In the meeting with Minister Lebouthillier, Spingle said the two main options put on the table to support the shrimp fishery were a government-funded buyback in conjunction between the federal and provincial governments as well as an expansion of the redfish fishery.
“The fleets that don’t have the shrimp right now are the ones that are going to need the redfish,” said Spingle. “Everyone else agreed with that. I know the Listuguj had talked about a moratorium, but that wasn’t the focus of this particular meeting.”
The fisheries minister was apparently in agreement with the stance of the FFAW and other industry partners on the Gulf shrimp issue. According to Spingle, she showed an understanding of the challenges facing these fleets, particularly the challenges facing her constituents in Gaspé, many of whom earn their living from the sea.
In the course of this meeting, Lebouthillier claimed she would have a decision made on both shrimp and redfish before the end of January 2024. The minister also indicated she is going to be visiting Newfoundland and Labrador at some time in the same month.
“We don’t have anything formally scheduled, but we’re pretty confident we’ll get a chance to sit down with her,” said Spingle. “Gulf shrimp is a major crisis, but there are a lot of other issues we want to talk to her about.”
