GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE CAPELIN A HEALTHY STOCK

I have always been of the opinion that despite our disagreements, the fishing industry and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) were part of a shared enterprise — one whose goals were the preservation of our oceans while providing a regulatory framework within which our industry and our citizens can thrive. I no longer believe this to be the case.

In 2018 the 4RST (Gulf of St. Lawrence) capelin total allowable catch (TAC), a stock completely separate and discreet from the Newfoundland capelin stock, was reduced by 35 per cent following a single year of poor landings in an abundance of caution.

Since that time both the DFO’S scientific and harvesters’ anecdotal evidence has been overwhelming: the stock is very healthy; the physical condition of the fish is the best it’s been in decades; stock dynamics are bottom up, driven by environmental factor rather than the infinitesimal small fishing effort and environmental models for the gulf predict a positive trajectory for the stock.

And yet the department has again refused, against the mounting scientific evidence, to return the small amount of TAC that was taken away in 2018.

There is no other explanation for this abstruce decision making other than to conclude that the department has become absolutely captivated by the interests of foreign-financed environmental lobbyists and political machinations tied to misinformation.

The department has a fiduciary duty to make policy decisions based on the best available scientific evidence and I would charge that they have broken their covenant.

My heart is broken. I have completely lost faith in our system.

For the love of God, we have a strong resource in high demand during a period of acute financial turmoil. Let us go to work.

Sam Anderson Fisherman,

Corner Brook