Eastern Shore Islands Current Focus of MPA Designation Process
The Eastern Shore Islands area of interest (AOI) is leading the way in the Maritimes as far as the process goes in the design of a proposed marine protected area (MPA) under the Ocean’s Act.
“While DFO is exploring various AOIs across the country, the current focus of DFO’s Maritimes Region is on the Eastern Shore Islands AOI,” said DFO communications advisor Alex McNab, adding it’s important to note that “each AOI is unique, with its own processes and timelines.”
DFO is ...
Experimental Redfish Fishery ‘Too Much, Too Soon’
Concerns are being expressed that an experimental 2,500-tonne redfish fishery underway in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is “too much, too soon” for the Unit 1 stock that is showing positive growth.
“This hurts all the Maritime provinces,” said Jan Voutier, finfish manager at Louisbourg Seafoods in Nova Scotia, one of the biggest buyers and producers of redfish from the Gulf.
“This is being driven by non-participants in the industry that had none or very little participation in the ...
New Management Measures for Atlantic Mackerel
New management measures for Atlantic mackerel being introduced across the Maritime Region by the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) this year include dockside monitoring and a limit on handlines.
“DFO will be requiring 25 per cent dockside monitoring coverage for landings in the vessel-based mackerel fisheries (gillnet and handline) and the trap net fisheries,” states a notice to fish harvesters dated April 13.
“The landings from these two fisheries accounted ...
Apply the Precautionary Principle Before it is Too Late
In letters to the editor (Navigator, Vol 20, No. 10, October 2017), John Risley raises several examples of what we don’t know about our fishery.
We have no real idea of what our fishing industry resources are going to look like in 10 years’ time, including changes in location and abundance. He points out we are enjoying record catches for Atlantic Canada’s most valuable species, lobster; but we have no idea whether we can count on these catches to remain stable or improve or go into ...
Staying the Course
TriNav Group Directors (from left) Trevor Decker, Paul Pinhorn and Rick Young discuss the launch for the first edition of The Navigator back in 1997.
No one said it was going to be easy.
And it wasn’t. There were a few choppy seas along the way but it worked — The Navigator Magazine is 20 years old this month and going as strong as ever.
It all started in 1997 — a milestone year for me.
After spending more than 30 years behind a microphone, I took an early retirement from ...
Hitting Home
Britain’s Divorce From the EU Could Have Negative Repercussions in the Maritimes
The decision by Great Britain to divorce itself from the European Union (EU) will have far-reaching effects not only in Europe, but on this side of the Big Pond as well.
In jeopardy is CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) a major trade deal between the European Community and Canada which has been in the works for quite some time. The deal is now in peril of being snuffed out due to divorce ...
Maritime Seafood Coalition Formed in Response to Chronic Labour Shortage
The Maritime Seafood Coalition, announced this week, is a growing collection of fishing enterprises (fishers), industry organizations, and regional stakeholders working together to challenge the Federal government’s apparent unwillingness to take seriously the chromic labour shortage in the seafood sector.
Lack of labour places Canada at a trade disadvantage: While labour shortages in fish and food processing are common in most developed nations, our competitors have the ability to use low ...
