(Halifax) Redfish fishing will reopen later in June in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, after a decades-long moratorium.
The federal Fisheries Ministry announced last week that fishing, banned since 1995, will restart on June 15 with a total allowable catch of 60,000 tonnes for 2024-25.
Nonprofit conservation group Oceana says that while the reopening represents a “hopeful new chapter” for Atlantic fishing, the new limit should be questioned.
Rebecca Schijns, a fisheries specialist at the group, points out that the new quota is far higher than the minimum allowable of 25,000 tonnes, announced in January, and believes the increase could harm efforts to rebuild stocks.
For his part, Jason Spingle, secretary-treasurer of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, says the inshore fishermen his union represents instead believe the new quota is “conservative” given the quantity of fish estimated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
About 15 percent of the quota is reserved for coastal vessels less than 20 meters in length, an unfair share, according to Mr. Spingle. Offshore fishermen, those who use boats longer than 30.5 meters, hold almost 60% of the quotas.