10/05/2018
Today, DFO announced that 8,275t of the 9,500t TAC has been landed as of Thursday, October 4, with an estimated 1200t of the quota being harvested this week alone. FFAW has called on DFO to modestly increase the ultraconservative quota as a number of signs point to an abundant stock.
“Landings are coming in at a much higher rate than anticipated. This is a good indicator of the health of the stock, and science has shown that our extremely low removals are not impacting growth of the stock,” said FFAW-Unifor President Keith Sullivan.
The 2018 northern cod fishery has been successful for inshore harvesters in our province. All bait fisheries this year including squid and capelin were immensely successful this season and are a positive sign for the health of the northern cod stock.
The most recent stock assessment showed that the modest stewardship fishery had no impact on the trajectory of the stock, the federal government has set the quota at 9,500 tons, a dramatic reduction of 25% from last year’s fishery. The 2018 stock assessment indicated that fishing mortality rates in the most recent years are among the lowest levels observed in the 35-year time series for this resource and would not impede stock rebuilding.
“As northern cod rebuilds, very modest increases in the stewardship fishery can simultaneously build capacity on land without having any significant impact on the trajectory of the stock. As it stands, this management plan is leaving the inshore harvesters and coastal communities shut out of the fishery of the future,” concluded Sullivan.