Oceana Canada criticizes increase in cod quota
Oceana Canada blasts announcements on Northern cod, caplin
A flurry of announcements by Fisheries and Oceans Canada has prompted another round of debate on cod, caplin and overall management of fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The department decided on a small quota increase for northern cod, from 12,350 metric tonnes to 12,999 metric tonnes; another recreational cod fishery allowing citizens to fish every weekend from July 3 until Sept. 6, and for a full week Sept. 25 to Oct. 3, and a commercial caplin fishery with a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 14,533 metric tonnes.
Oceana Canada, a group devoted to the conservation of the ocean, says these decisions make no sense.
In a news release Monday the group’s science director, Dr. Robert Rangeley, said the decision to increase the cod quota was “baffling.”
“DFO has itself stated that to successfully rebuild this fragile fish population to a healthy level, fishing mortality must be kept at the lowest possible level, yet the quota has been increased once again.”
Oceana Canada is also concerned about the recreational fishery.
That fishery, said Rangeley, is not well monitored and there is no way of knowing just how much fish is being taken.
the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) does not require participants to purchase tags or licences, he noted, adding rough estimates by DFO assume as much as 2,000 metric tonnes of cod are being landed.
Oceana Canada says if a recreational fishery is to be allowed, it should be monitored much more closely.
As for cod, Rangeley said Oceana Canada is not calling for a shutdown of the commercial fishery, but is does think quotas should be set a little lower.
“We’re suggesting it should go back to 10,000 tonnes,” said Rangeley, “and that number should include the amount taken from the recreational fishery.”
More importantly, said Rangely, DFO has to get down to the business of setting specific targets for rebuilding stocks.
Although the department rolled out a rebuilding plan for cod last December, he said the plan lacked specific numbers.
“The rebuilding plan for Northern Cod is also deeply flawed — which has been pointed out by prominent fisheries scientists — as it lacks targets and timelines and the harvest rule was not evaluated by science, or peer reviewed. The plan as written does little to promote rebuilding,” said Rangeley.
COD VALUE
It’s not a huge fishery in financial terms, compared to the value to shellfish. However, cod still means millions of dollars of new cash for Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy.
In 2020, with an average price of about 67 cents per pound and landings of 12,765 metric tonnes (from all fishing zones), the commercial cod fishery brought about $18 million into the province, according to statistics on the DFO website.
Most of those landings, about $12-million worth, went to inshore fishers in boats less than 35-ft long. The 35-65-ft fleet landed about 5.7 million pounds of cod.
That cod also means work in processing plants.
Icewater Seafoods in Arnold’s Cove depends entirely on cod.
“We’ve been the largest buyer of the cod that’s sold commercially in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
In 2J3KL, he said, Icewater is not the only buyer but they are a significant player for that cod.
Wareham noted total cod landings last season were actually just over 10,000 metric tonnes.
That was partially due to a DFO policy that deems 75 per cent of the quota to be caught in summer and 25 per cent in the fall.
And in the past few years fall weather has not been suitable for fishing, especially for small boat operators.
For Icewater, cod from 2J3KL means work for about 200 people for July, August and possibly into September.
In fall and winter the plant depends on cod from the 3Ps zone. It’s important, to maintain sales to their European markets, to have a steady supply of product year-round.
Wareham added when it comes to setting rebuilding goals for the cod stock, the question is whether it’s even possible, in the current ecosystem, to get back to the stock spawning biomass of three decades ago.
“When science looks at the last time that stock was healthy, in their eyes, and we could see growth and recovery, was in the early 1980s. So they’re holding it up to the early 80’s …. and somewhere around 800,000-850,000 tonnes of spawning stock biomass.
“We’re at 52 per cent of that number today. We’ve seen exceptional growth,” said Wareham, but if DFO’S goal for SSB remains at 850,000 tonnes he wonders whether they’ll ever reach that target.
“I think the most important point is whether the limit reference point is appropriate,” he said.
Right now Wareham is preparing to fire up the processing lines at the plant again, bringing back workers next week to process frozenat-sea cod. The fishery has opened in the 3Ps zone, he said, but several fishermen are still fishing for crab and lobster.
“Inshore landings usually increase around the middle of June,” he said and he’s hoping cod catches will be sufficient through the summer and into fall to provide Icewater’s employees with steady work this season.
Meanwhile, the Fish Food and Allied Workers’ union (FFAW) said in a press release the cod quota of 12,999 is an “extremely restrictive plan” that keeps the harvest rate at below two per cent of the spawning stock biomass.
CAPLIN QUESTIONS
It’s impossible to talk about cod without talking about caplin.
These small fish that come to shale, sandy beaches around Newfoundland to spawn in early summer, are one of the main food sources for cod. Other predators, like seabirds, whales and seals, also feed on caplin.
According to scientific data, caplin stocks are also in poor shape.
Fisheries and Oceans has decided to allow a commercial caplin fishery again this year, but with a smaller quota — the TAC is 25 per cent less than last year in fishing zones 2J3KL and 3Ps.
On the west coast, in areas 4RST, DFO announced on June 1 the quota for 2021 is just over 9,000 tonnes.
Oceana says the caplin catch should be zero.
Caplin is a forage fish, one of the main food sources of cod, said Rangeley, and to target this important food source for cod simply doesn’t make sense.
“The minister didn’t go far enough to protect caplin,” he said. “Trillions of eggs are not coming to the beaches because they are being taken for roe.
Shutting down the caplin fishery, Rangeley said, would give cod a better chance to rebuild, noting fisheries managers in countries like Norway and Iceland frequently shut down their caplin fisheries to protect the stock.
Last season the TAC for caplin was set at 24,000 metric tonnes, but only 16,000 tonnes (89 per cent) was landed.
The landed value — the money that went directly to fishing boats and crews — was about $14.7 million, according to DFO.
For this season the quota is set at just over 14,000 tonnes.
Finding the balance between what fishing communities need now, and what they need to ensure a future, is a quandary,
“I know that ministers, when they make these (quota) decisions they’re doing a good thing for the communities by balancing the social and economic costs of scaling back a fishery,” said Rangeley.
“But if you’re truly considering the socio-economic conditions, you’ll be talking about how we invest in rebuilding those fisheries.”
When it comes to caplin and cod in Newfoundland and Labrador, Rangeley said, “We’re in a serious fisheries deficit here and you can’t keep taking from the capital, from future generations, and expect to do good for the communities that hope to rely on these fisheries for the long-term.”