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In much of Newfoundland and Labrador, the annual recreational food fishery is being expanded for the coming summer — a move the federal fisheries minister says will improve safety on the water.
In a statement Friday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the province’s food fishery season will run from Canada Day to Labour Day, which is Sept. 7.
In this period, the fishery on most of the province’s east coast, known as division 2J3KL, will now run seven days a week. The area includes the waters off St. John’s and the Avalon peninsula and Labrador south of Hopedale.
“Expanding to the seven days a week really provides more safety. It allows people to fish when the weather is safe and conducive to going out in a boat,” Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson told CBC Radio’s The Broadcast.
She said this decision was made in this area because of the health of the cod stock.
However, on the west and south coast — division 3Ps and divisions 4R3Pn — the food fishery will remain at three days a week, Thompson said, because the stocks are in the critical zone.
“We have to continue to have conservation measures in place, wanting that stock to reach a healthy zone. And people understand that,” said Thompson.
The fishery on most of the province’s east coast, known as division 2J3KL, will now run seven days a week. The area includes the waters off St. John’s and the Avalon peninsula and Labrador south of Hopedale. (DFO)
In Friday’s statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the decision came after a public survey that involved more than 9,500 responses, in addition to the advice from scientists and input from other groups.
Ottawa is maintaining the daily bag limit and five groundfish per person in all areas as well as the fish per day per person policy across all three zones, but is eliminating the 15-fish per day per boat limit.
“The five fish per person is really aligned with the need to still be able to have an eye to conservation, but to provide the predictability to provide an ability to go when the weather aligns with safe fishing,” Thompson said.
In addition, Thomson said the fall fishery will remain at nine days.
In the statement, the federal government said the fall fishery will run from the second last weekend in September to the last weekend of September, annually.
“It’s good news. It’s certainly what I heard from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and I’m really happy to share it on this first long weekend of the summer,” Thompson said.
Thompson said this announcement is to give people better predictability in advance of the start of the food fishery.
Melissa Abbott, DFO’s chief conservation and protection officer, says the department will be keeping an eye out for the illegal sale of recreationally caught fish. (CBC)
Melissa Abbott, DFO’s chief conservation and protection officer for N.L.’s northeast and southern areas, said the department will be paying close attention to illegal sales.
“Any fish caught recreationally is strictly prohibited from being sold or purchased,” she said, adding they’ll they’ll also be conducting inspections at food establishments.
Abbott said they deploy different tactics in their work, including monitoring and intelligence work, as well as incorporating new technology.
“Drones have become a big part of our enforcement efforts this year,” she said. “It’s really allowing us to get to places and to be able to monitor activities where it would be a lot more difficult to get to otherwise,” she said.
‘Thorn in our side’ eliminated
Barry Fordham, chair of the advocacy group Food Fishers Committee, said his feelings about Ottawa’s announcement are “mixed” between elation and disappointment.
“We were lobbying for the whole island, the whole province,” Fordham said.
He said the change doesn’t go far enough and the permitted days should have been extended in all areas.
His group also wanted to see an increase to the daily bag limit, which Ottawa said is staying the same. But he’s glad to see the end of the 15-fish per day per boat limit, calling it a “thorn in our side.”
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