After being under moratorium since 2015, the commercial Northern shrimp fishery in shrimp fishing area (SFA) 7, off the coast of southeastern Newfoundland and Labrador, has been re-opened with a total allowable catch (TAC) of 1,367 tonnes for the 2026–2027 season.
SFA 7 is the domestic portion of Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Division 3L and is managed by Canada. The remainder of Division 3L is managed by NAFO, as it is outside Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
NAFO placed a moratorium on Northern shrimp in Division 3L in 2015 after the stock was determined to be in poor health. In order to protect the stock and maintain the fishery for future generations, NAFO closed the commercial fishery.
The 1,367-tonne TAC represents Canada’s historical 83.3 per cent share of the 3L TAC.
In 2025, Canada introduced a new stock assessment framework, which redefines assessment areas to better align with the stock’s biological distribution. Under this new framework, the shrimp population in the South Stock Assessment Region, which includes SFA 7, was determined to be in the healthy zone, providing new economic opportunities for harvesters on Canada’s east coast while supporting sustainability.
“The shrimp fishery supports thousands of jobs on Canada’s east coast. By reopening the commercial fishery in SFA 7, we are continuing to support the fishing industry on Canada’s east coast and everyone who makes a living from it,” said Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson when making the announcement on June 22.
For the 2026–2027 fishing season, historic allocations will be maintained, with the exception of the portion of the TAC (9.4 per cent) designated to the Prince Edward Island Consortium. This portion of the TAC will be held in reserve for the 2026–2027 season, pending further analysis of the most appropriate use of the available quota.
The TAC for Northern shrimp in SFAs 4, 5 and 6 has been reduced for the 2026/27 season. In SFA 4, the TAC was reduced by five per cent from 16,220 t in 2025/26 to 15,490 t, which includes a 1,500t allocation for Use of Fish under Section 10 of the Fisheries Act.
In SFA 5, the TAC was decreased by 11 per cent from 12,208 t in 2025/2026 to 10,899 t in 2026/27. The TAC in SFA 6 was decreased by three per cent from 13,363 t in 2025/26 to 12,991 t in 2026/27.
According to the latest stock status report, Assessment of Northern Shrimp on the Eastern Scotian Shelf (SFAs 13–15), in 2025, the model-estimated spawning stock biomass (SSB) of 13,365 metric tonnes (mt) was above the limit reference point (LRP) and below the upper stock reference (USR), placing the stock in the cautious zone for the fourth consecutive year.
“A large recruitment of Northern shrimp in 2024 resulted in the highest number of shrimp of less than 15 mm carapace length (CL) that has been observed since 2014. These shrimp would be expected to recruit to the SSB in 2028 should environmental conditions be favourable. No large increases in recruitment to the SSB are expected until 2028, due to poor recruitment in 2022 and 2023, although the total biomass is expected to increase before 2028 according to the DFO Precautionary Approach for fishery decision-making,” reads the report.
Northern shrimp have a wide geographic range in the Atlantic Ocean and are found in coastal waters off Nunavut in the north and as far south as Massachusetts.
In Atlantic Canada, the main fisheries are off the east coast of Nova Scotia, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Davis Strait and off the coasts of Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland.
According to DFO statistics, 28,285 mt of Northern shrimp was landed in 2025 in Newfoundland and Labrador, with a landed value of $139,823,408.
