Tag Archives: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
DFO says thousands of illegal shark fins found during Pacific patrol
Canadian fisheries officers discovered more than 3,000 shark fins while conducting a maritime surveillance and enforcement mission in the North Pacific Ocean, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The agency says the fins were illegally possessed or stored on multiple vessels that were inspected during a two-month patrol of the high seas between British Columbia and Japan. Some of the fins were from threatened species, including the oceanic whitetip shark, the DFO said in news 
release Thursday. The annual enforcement mission, known as Operation North Pacific Guard, included fishery and coast guard officers from the United States and Japan, as well as a Canadian patrol aircraft temporarily based out of Japan. >>click to read << 16:21
Statement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada regarding lobster fishing in St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on recognizing rights, respect, collaboration, and partnership. As part of that commitment, we are working with First Nations harvesters so that they can exercise their Supreme Court-affirmed Treaty right to fish through various DFO-authorized fisheries. These fisheries include food, social and ceremonial (FSC), and communal commercial fisheries, including interim understandings reached to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood. >>click to read<< 10:14
Scientists Level New Critiques of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Scientific Rigor
Twenty-five years ago, after the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery, Jeffrey Hutchings, a preeminent fisheries scientist and professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, sounded the alarm that Canada’s federal fisheries department was allowing “nonscience influences” in critical decision-making. Writing at the time, he said, “There is a clear and immediate need for Canadians to examine very seriously the role of bureaucrats and politicians in the management of Canada’s natural resources.” Today, a new crop of researchers is once again imploring Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to change its ways. At the core of their concerns is a number of systemic and structural ways in which DFO gathers, parses, and handles scientific information, and how that advice is passed on to decision-makers. >click to read< 09:20
DFO says it has enough resources to monitor Indigenous lobster fishing in Nova Scotia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says its enforcement branch will be on the water and adequately equipped to monitor compliance of First Nations lobster fisheries this summer. The pledge follows the chaotic fishery for baby eels this spring where there was widespread illegal activity by some Indigenous and non-Indigenous harvesters. DFO shut down the legal elver fishery, affecting both commercial licence holders and Indigenous groups with fishing plans approved by the department. But “poaching”, as federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray called it, continued. “I want to clarify they are two very different fisheries,” Maritimes region director of conservation and protection Tim Kerr told reporters Monday in a briefing on Indigenous rights-based lobster fisheries. >click to read< 08:35
Canada: Positioning for redfish re-opening
Canada’s commercial fishery for redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has remaind closed since 1995 to allow redfish stocks rebuild to healthy levels. Now the authorities are positioning to re-open the Unit 1 redfish commercial fishery in Atlantic Canada and Quebec in the near future. The announcement has been made by Minister of Fisheries Joyce Murray that in preparation for a pending commercial fishery, the 2023 experimental fishery for Unit 1 redfish will be increased from 2500 to 5000 tonnes. Twenty-four individuals and groups from Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have been approved to participate, five of which are Indigenous groups. >click to read< 07:48
Atlantic mackerel moratorium extended for 2023 season
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has extended the closure of Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fishing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec for the 2023 season. In a notice to fish harvesters on Wednesday, the federal department said it was continuing the moratorium “to allow the stock to rebuild.” The moratorium has been in place since March 2022. In its notice, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said results of a Canadian stock assessment found Atlantic mackerel “declined further in the critical zone since the last assessment, with spawning stock biomass at its lowest-observed value.” The critical zone means serious harm is occurring. >click to read< 18:36
P.E.I. harbours damaged by Fiona being readied for spring lobster season
At Red Head Harbour near Morell, about 75 per cent of the harbour’s infrastructure was damaged by the late September wind and waves from Fiona, and some of the repairs are expected to take years. “We had lots of room before and everybody had to tighten up. Everyone had to take less space to allow a couple more gears in the east wharf and the south wharf,” said David Sansom, president of the Red Head Harbour Authority. Ottawa designated $100 million for urgent harbour repairs as part of a $300-million recovery package for Atlantic Canada announced in the days after Fiona. Photos, >click to read< 07:05
Good Indicators for Capelin Health, Despite DFO’s Doubling Down on Doom and Gloom
ST. JOHN’S, NL – Following DFO’s technical briefing on the 2J3KL capelin stock today, fish harvesters are optimistic that more favourable environmental conditions could lead to stock growth. “FFAW-Unifor is not surprised with the tone of today’s technical briefing by DFO Science, which have been consistently negative, irrespective of the data,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “DFO Science is supposed to be an unbiased, transparent, and evidence-based in their approach. But most of them don’t spend more than a day on the water each year. They don’t see or appreciate the qualitative observations professional fish harvesters provide, and how we can support more robust and reliable data collection for capelin and other species. Instead of contributing to a productive relationship and more informed stock assessments, we have government scientists whose sole objective is to shut commercial fisheries down, regardless of facts,” says Dennis Chaulk, fish harvester from Bonavista Bay with over 28 years of experience on the water. >click to read< 19:17
Positive signs in newest capelin stock assessment, but the tiny fish is still in the critical zone
“The capelin were in very good condition in the fall. That meant they’re longer and heavier than average. There’s lots of zooplankton, especially large zooplankton in the ecosystem,” said Hannah Murphy, a DFO research scientist and lead stock assessor. “We also had an increase in our larval abundance index this year, which is great. Larval survival is related to recruitment in capelin, so the more larvae we have and the more that survive, it’s better for the capelin stock.” Murphy said a full capelin acoustic survey happened over 2022, the first since 2019 due to the pandemic in 2020 and vessel availability in 2021. But the positivity ended there. This year, for the first time, the DFO has come up with a limit reference point for capelin. It’s set at 640 kilotons, the weight of fish in the water, and marks the boundary between the cautious and critical zones. >click to read< 17:32
U.S. announces reduced East Coast commercial mackerel quota for 2023
The United States will proceed with a commercial fishery of the depleted East Coast mackerel stock it shares with Canada in 2023. The U.S. quota was released this week, putting pressure on Canada which has yet to decide whether it will continue a total moratorium it imposed in 2022 to help rebuild the population. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. equivalent of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), announced on Tuesday a total allowable catch of 3,639 metric tonnes. It was 27 per cent cut from 2022 in recognition that the transboundary stock remains in trouble and is overfished. >click to read< 19:01
SEA-NL calls on Ottawa to lift moratorium on Atlantic mackerel
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to lift the moratorium on Atlantic mackerel in 2023 and establish a quota at least equal to the United States. “DFO’s decision earlier this year to slap a moratorium on the Atlantic mackerel fishery while American fishermen continued to fish the same stock — combined with relatively weak science, and then even less data without fishermen on the water — was wrong from the get-go,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s executive director. >click to read< 12:48
Canadian Coast Guard can’t retire old fisheries science vessels on East Coast
Canada is extending the life of its two aging offshore fisheries science vessels on the East Coast as the Canadian Coast Guard struggles to bring their replacements into service. The transition has floundered because of breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels. In response, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has now postponed the planned retirement of 40-year-old CCGS Alfred Needler on Dec.31 and 34-year-old CCGS Teleost set for March 2023. >click to read< 09:18
Canada’s efforts to rebuild depleted fish stocks are flopping, says ENGO Oceana
Major spending increases and policy changes by the federal government to protect and rebuild wild fish stocks in Canada have resulted in little improvement, according to the 2022 Fishery Audit released this week by environmental group Oceana Canada. In its sixth annual audit, Oceana says fewer than one third of wild marine fish stocks in Canada are considered healthy and most critically depleted stocks lack plans to rebuild them. The audit assessed 194 fish stocks in Canada. The audit says 72 per cent of DFO’s management documents do not formally consider climate change and that needs to change. >click to read< 12:33
Moderate livelihood treaty right at centre of fishery trial in Nova Scotia
A trial involving three Mi’kmaw fishermen who say they were exercising their treaty right to fish for a living when they were charged with fishery offences is currently underway in Digby, N.S. James Nevin, 38, Logan Pierro-Howe, 24, and Leon Knockwood, 27, from the Sipekne’katik First Nation are each charged with four counts of violating the Aboriginal Communal Fishing Licenses Regulations and the Atlantic Fishery Regulations under the Fisheries Act. They’re accused of fishing and catching lobster without authorization as well as possessing lobster traps that either had unauthorized tags or no tags on them. >click to read< 08:10
Ottawa grants $4.5 million for Quebec’s fisheries sector
The federal government is granting $4.5 million for 47 projects related to the fishing industry on the the entire territory of Quebec. The Member of Parliament for Gaspésie and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Diane Lebouthillier, was in Rivière-au-Renard on Tuesday to make the announcement, on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Custody. coast, Joyce Murray. With these contributions, Fisheries and Oceans Canada aims to improve the efficiency, quality and sustainable development of the Quebec fishing industry. Projects outside the maritime sector, such as technical projects or research work relating to fishing, are also part of the funded projects. >click to read< 15:05
Entangled North Atlantic Right Whale spotted off Shippagan, N.B.
The federal Fisheries Department is on the lookout for an entangled North Atlantic Right Whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Shippagan, N.B. The department says the whale was observed on Saturday by a Fisheries and Oceans Canada aircraft. The whale, which has been identified as the 2021 calf of the whale known as 3720, was spotted about 48 nautical miles east of Shippagan. Officials said they do not know the type of gear that the whale is entangled in, or where it came from. >click to read< 08:14
Bloc Québécois wants more squid fishing after feds cut herring quota
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet asked Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Sunday to allow squid fishing to compensate for the decrease in quotas for the fall herring announced a few days earlier. On Friday, minister Joyce Murray announced that the total allowable catch for the fall herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence would decrease to 10,000 tonnes from 12,000 tonnes to preserve the population. “We leave the fishers without notice in an economic situation that is not good for them, in a sector that is already fragile,” Blanchet said, explaining that adding squid quotas would offer them an alternative “that uses the equipment they already have and that has a domestic Quebec market that will consume all the products, while not risking biodiversity or costing the government anything. >click to read< 07:40
B.C. Commercial fishermen on tenterhooks
B.C. commercial fisherman, who had hoped for a green light today, now have to wait until next week for a go-ahead to fish for Fraser River sockeye, while American commercial fishermen are already catching sockeye. “They’re fishing on the American side, but we’re not fishing on the Canadian side,” said Mitch Dudoward, a commercial fisherman and spokesperson for the UFAWU-Unifor fishermen’s union. Returns so far appear to be healthy enough for a commercial opening this year, and fisherman had expected commercial openings to be announced today. But they now have to wait until Tuesday. >click to read< 9:16
Days of chopping off fishing boats over; DFO to increase maximum inshore vessel length to 49’11
“The days of chopping off boats are over. This is a massive victory for inshore harvesters in what is now the under 40’ fleet,” says Jason Sullivan, President of SEA-NL, and Bay Bulls-based inshore owner-operator. “We have fought DFO in this province and the FFAW for years to be treated the same as the rest of Atlantic Canada in terms of vessel length, and today we finally have a victory that puts the safety and lives of inshore harvesters first.” The news was announced this morning by Avalon MP Ken McDonald, chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, who, along with SEA-NL and FISH-NL before it, fought for years to change the vessel-length policy. >click to read< 10:53
Grey seals eat into another fish population in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Grey seals are eating into another fish species in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, driving a serious decline in the abundance of yellowtail flounder, according to a new report from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Federal scientists assessed the flatfish species in the southern gulf over the past 25 years up to 2020 and projected the population to 2030. The results are stark. The number of yellowtail flounder six-years and older is believed to have declined by 95 per cent since the mid-1980s. There is a 100 per cent probability the population will remain in the critical zone where serious harm occurs whatever the level of commercial fishing, the report says. >click to read< 08:39
Federal court dismisses DFO appeal of ruling in fisherman’s licence fight
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Fisheries and Oceans Canada against a federal court judgment involving a lobster fisherman’s charter rights on Friday. Parkers Cove lobster fisherman Dana Robinson, 60, has a disability that limits his ability to stand on a boat for long periods of time. He was operating his boat in the Bay of Fundy under a DFO provision that allows fishermen to designate a substitute operator once they provide adequate medical proof of their condition. The provision only allows the substitution for five years. An extension was denied in 2019. >click to read< 11:42
Demand is going to be strong! Remarkable snow crab season ahead for Gulf of St. Lawrence crabbers
The snow crab industry in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence can expect an excellent 2022 fishing season, both in terms of catches and prices. The preliminary report of the most recent scientific assessment of the stock, carried out by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, shows a growth of 4% in the commercial biomass made up of males of 95 mm and over, compared to last year. It is now valued at close to 81,000 metric tons (MT). “We consider that we have a good breeding stock and that the stock is healthy,” >click to read< 09:14
Fishery Closures and the Ghosts of Past Mistakes
The news spread quickly across the calm June waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as fishers jumped on the radio to figure out what had just happened. The radio chatter was incessant as fishers wondered aloud where they’d be allowed to fish, if they would be out of business, and what the future would hold. “Everyone was freaking out because all of those questions were unanswered,” Christian says, adding this policy will likely end British Columbia’s commercial salmon industry.,, Under the PSSI, DFO plans to close 57 percent of the 138 Pacific salmon fisheries along the west coast of British Columbia and Yukon. >click to read< 10:06
New fisheries research ship will monitor state of P.E.I. stocks
The Capt. Jacques Cartier took part in the 51st annual September survey in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence last month, along with the ship that it will eventually replace, the CCGS Teleost. The work follows an 18-month delay in getting the new ship operational because of malfunctions, delays receiving parts, and COVID-19-related travel restrictions in Nova Scotia.,, The research vessel will collect fish using a bottom trawl, then sort all the species, measuring and counting every creature drawn up. “For P.E.I. that would include lobster, mackerel, halibut. Essentially, all the oceanic species that are exploited in P.E.I.” photos, >click to read< 10:48
Commercial Lobster Industry to be heard at Potlotek First Nation challenge to the Fisheries Act
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia granted the United Fisheries Conservation Alliance application for intervenor status in the court case brought by the small Cape Breton first nation against the Attorney General of Canada. Potlotek is seeking to have the court prevent Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) from enforcing Fisheries Act regulations on its members, which it claims are an infringement on its treaty right to make a moderate livelihood off marine resources.,, Potlotek opposed allowing representatives of the commercial industry to intervene,,, The Supreme Court found that the group representing commercial fishermen should be allowed to be heard. >click to read< 07:50
Illegal fishing nets seized on Fraser River by DFO
Fishery officer Mike Fraser, DFO detachment commander for Fraser East, Conservation and Protection (C&P), said right now there are 16 active investigations underway into illegal fishing. About 160 of the seized illegal gillnets came from the Lower Fraser, from the mouth of the river, to just past Yale. “We’ve been getting eight to 10 nets a week,” Despite what they described as “high compliance,” from area First Nations, DFO said it has received “an increase in public reports” of illegal fishing in a few areas, as well as illegal fish sales. “As a result, we are increasing our enforcement activities, particularly at night.” >click to read< 13:32
Should DFO rein in sport fishing to help save salmon?
Conservation groups want Ottawa to dramatically curtail the recreational fishery as it did with the commercial fishery last week in order to save wild salmon on the West Coast. But the sport sector, equally keen to protect the prized but diminishing chinook salmon, wants Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to make sure any further measures and restrictions this year are backed by science, and provide stability and results for the embattled fishers and the fish population. The federal government failed to address the recreational fishery, which also impacts salmon returns, despite making historic and dramatic reductions to the commercial fleet on the West Coast, said Jeffery Young, science and policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation. >click to read< 08:47
On the Brink of Extinction: DFO salmon closures sink dreams of Pacific fishermen
Geoff Millar’s livelihood is on the brink of extinction after DFO closed roughly 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial salmon fisheries. The closures, DFO stated, will last “multiple generations” of fish to save tumbling salmon populations. The decision leaves Millar, along with hundreds of other commercial fish harvesters on the B.C. coast, in despair and in difficult financial straits. “These closures have absolutely devastated us,” affirmed James Lawson, a Heiltsuk fish harvester based in Campbell River, B.C.,, “We’ve been forced into a corner, and the only option is retirement, that seems to be DFO’s goal.” >click to read< 07:35
Fisheries and Oceans Canada held Lobster Science Partnership Roundtable
On June 15, Fisheries and Oceans Canada held a Lobster Science Partnership Roundtable to discuss important lobster science questions and research priorities. Thank you to the more than 40 participants, including Indigenous partners, commercial fishing representatives, other key researchers and Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists, for their invaluable contribution to the conversation on the work that needs to be done to chart a common course for lobster science. For further information, >click to read< 08:53
DFO: Lobster Science Partnership Roundtable with Indigenous partners, commercial fishing reps, and researchers
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, announced the launch of the Lobster Science Partnership Roundtable. On June 15th, Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists, Indigenous partners, commercial fishing representatives, and other key researchers will come together to discuss their most important research questions and priorities, with the shared goal of increasing our knowledge around lobster stocks. >click to read< 11:22
