Vital that feds, province work together
Five things Steve Crocker told the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans
Provincial Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods Minister Steve Crocker appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans Monday morning at the Sheraton Hotel, St John’s, as part of the committee’s study on the northern cod stock, which stretches from the Grand Banks to the south coast of Labrador. Crocker noted the collapse of the northern cod stock and subsequent closure of the fishery is described as the largest layoff in Canadian history.
Here’s five things he told the committee:
1. Newfoundland and Labrador has an extremely small share of the current global cod market. In 2015, Newfoundland and Labrador exported just over 1,100 tonnes of cod fillets, or 0.0036 per cent of the world total. Today, the largest players in the Atlantic cod fishery are Norway, Russia, and Iceland which account for more than 80 per cent — more than one million tonnes — of global supply. There are also millions of tonnes of other substitute whitefish species, both wild and farmed.
2. Currently, the Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishery primarily produces single frozen fillets and portions in the form of loins and tails, for example. Single frozen Atlantic cod sells at a market premium above twice frozen cod and frozen at sea cod, but high quality is imperative to maintain that price level.
3. The management of forage species such as caplin can be better integrated with the management objective for cod, and the impact of competitors and predators such as seals could also be considered. In order to do this, there must be guidance from the science community. With the federal government’s renewed investment in, and commitment to, fisheries science, the province puts this work forward as a science priority for the Newfoundland and Labrador region.
4. Fisheries management decisions such as the setting of total allowable catch (TACs) should be based on scientific advice in order to protect against the overexploitation of resources and allow for longterm sustainability of the fishery.
5. The importance of co-ordination of federal and provincial policies to support the cod sector particularly as the industry transitions can’t be overstated.