Another sea fishery is facing a big reduction in the quota this year – the only question is how big.
This time it’s big herring fishing in southwest Nova Scotia and Fundy Bay.
The stock is in a critical area where serious damage is occurring, but hundreds of people are fishing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
What happens next will once again test how far the Canadian Minister of Fisheries is willing to go to replenish the depleted stock.
63% cut looms
If the DFO decides to use a new modeling process, the quota is likely to be reduced to 13,050 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes – a reduction of 62.7 percent.
This advice is the result of an evaluation of the management strategy used to obtain TACs for this herring fishery for the first time.
The simulation-based process determines the quota or total allowable catch to achieve the desired result. The aim in this case is to remove the stock of herring from the critical area.
The DFO declined to say whether it had decided to use advice from the evaluation of the management strategy.
A spokesman for the department told CBC News in an email that the quota decision will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Fundy Bay season opens in June.
The industry offers smaller cuts
One industrial group proposed reducing the quota by 30 percent.
In a press release, Bay of Fundy Herring Industry said it would be ready to reduce total allowable catches to 25,000 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes for the 2022 season.
“Our fisheries recognize the need for caution and to encourage the revitalization of stocks,” said Noel Depre, president of Solnerville-based Comeau Seafoods, in a statement.
A photo shows the herring in a bucket. A decision on the total allowable catch for herring in southwestern Nova Scotia and Fundy Bay is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. (Robert F. Bucati / Associated Press)
Most of the quota is caught by seiners, boats that use large nets to go around a flock of herring when it comes to the surface.
The industry said it had taken voluntary conservation measures, citing the closure of large spawning grounds, the closure of seasonal and weekend caves and the protection of young fish.
“Our recovery efforts are showing signs of success, although they are going a little slower than we expected,” said Tony Hooper of Connors Bros., based in Blacks Harbor, NB
Search for a process pause
Industry leaders are also calling on the DFO to halt the process of evaluating management strategies, arguing that modeling is wrong.
“More work needs to be done before it can be implemented,” said Tim Kaiser of Scotia Garden Seafood Inc., based in Yarmouth, NS.
“We see inconsistencies in the model, and the best thing we can do now is take a short break, return to the table and resolve these issues before making long-term fishing decisions.”
Sebastian Pardo is the Coordinator for Sustainable Fisheries at the Center for Environmental Action in Halifax. Pardo says previous quota cuts have not led to a recovery of the stockpile population. (Paul Withers / CBC)
Conservationist Sebastian Pardo said the evaluation of the management strategy has been under development since 2019. The model was finalized after a review by the DFO and external scientists.
“For the most part, the conclusion was that science is stable,” said Pardo, coordinator for sustainable fisheries at the Halifax Center for Environmental Action.
The proposed cut is far greater in tonnage than the total halt imposed on spring herring fishing in Atlantic mackerel and St. Lawrence Bay earlier this year.
“This is a much more difficult decision in terms of economic consequences. Any TAC [total allowable catch] such a large reduction would be very painful for the industry and would have serious consequences, “Pardo said.
“In terms of conservation, this stock has been in the critical zone for some time and the successive reductions in TACs that have occurred in the past have not led to a recovery in the population.
“I think this is a big test.
West Nova MP Chris d’Entremon says changes are needed, but there are factors other than biomass that need to be taken into account. (Paul Withers / CBC)
West Nova MP Chris d’Entremont is a rider from Nova Scotia, home to large herring processing plants and seiner ports.
“We understand that there must be changes. Biomass may not be there as we should be, but there are other considerations that need to be emphasized,” d’Entremon told CBC News.
Nova Scotia’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Steve Craig plans to meet with industry representatives next week to discuss the quota.
Meanwhile, the herring industry is warning the DFO that sudden and significant changes could be catastrophic for business.
“Here at Connors, we can handle a certain level of TAC change from year to year, but we can’t change our raw materials and products overnight,” Hooper said.
“It is difficult to keep the plant viable if we see drastic cuts in TACs in the short term.”
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