UPDATED: Northern Shrimp Biomass in SFA 6 at Critical Level
It looks as though the Northern shrimp fishery off Newfoundland’s northeast coast will soon be receiving another hit.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans held a technical briefing today regarding the 2017 Northern Shrimp Stock Assessment and the news was not good — particularly in the beleaguered Shrimp Fishing Area (SFA) 6.
DFO scientists announced that in the all-important SFA 6, the fishable biomass index declined from 785,000 tonnes in 2006 to 104,000 tonnes in 2016. There was ...
Controversial LIFO Policy Under Review: Prominent Economist Says Offshore Shrimp Fishery Provides More Benefits to Province
The federal government finally announced it will be setting up a committee to review the much-debated and hotly contested last in, first out (LIFO) policy.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that a ministerial advisory panel will perform an external review of the LIFO quota allocation policy and deliver its findings and recommendations to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans by June 15, 2016. The yet-to-named panel will be conducting consultations in several communities across ...
Northern Shrimp Stocks Down 40 Per Cent: Fate of 2016 Fishing Season Up in the Air
For months there has been much speculation about the fate of 2016 northern shrimp quotas, particularly in SFA (shrimp fishing area) 6, located adjacent to the northeast coast of Newfoundland and the southeast coast of Labrador.
On Feb. 23, the Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) surprised some when it publicly called for an immediate halt to all northern shrimp fishing activity in SFA 6, setting off a series of union-organized public rallies across the province.
The call for a ...
Shrimp Science, Policy Under Critical Review: Sharp Decline in Stock Sparks Action and Debate
It’s one of the smallest species being fished in Newfoundland and Labrador waters, but this spring it is the subject of one of the biggest controversies to be had in the province’s fishery in years.
Shrimp has become a key stock in maintaining the fishing industry in waters off the north and northeast parts of the island and southern Labrador.
But the shrimp stock has been in decline for a number of years and a stock status update released in February by the Department of Fisheries ...
LIFO Policy to be Temporarily Suspended, CBC Reports
Late Monday, CBC reported a federal government announcement is forthcoming this week that will temporarily suspend the much-debated and controversial last in, first out (LIFO) policy in the shrimp fishery.
CBC stated that a seven-person panel will be appointed to study that policy and will report its findings by mid-June.
It also said the shrimp fishery in SFA 4 and 5 will continue as planned, but area 6 will be suspended pending the panel's report.
For months there has been much ...
Interim Quotas Would Put Nail in Coffin of Inshore Northern Shrimp Fishery, FFAW Claims
Granting offshore trawlers in Shrimp Fishing Area (SFA) 6 an advance on next season’s quotas or interim quotas would undermine the full stock assessment and allocation policy review, said the president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) today in a press release.
Keith Sullivan said while these critical processes are underway, all fishing in SFA 6 must cease.
“By granting interim quotas, the federal government would be tacitly admitting that offshore quota guarantees ...
