Environmental organization Oceana Canada wants capelin fishery paused
Fish harvesters and processors have renounced DFO’S decision to allow certain environmental groups more say at capelin advisory meetings
CORNER BROOK — Nearly two weeks after harvesters and processors walked out of a capelin advisory meeting, an environmental organization at the centre of the spat is calling for a temporary halt to the capelin fishery.
On March 22, both the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), which represents fish processors in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ffaw-unifor, the union representing the province’s fish harvesters and plant workers, abruptly left a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) advisory committee meeting for Area 2J3KL capelin.
The ASP and FFAW took issue after Oceana Canada and another non-governmental environmental organization, Oceans North, had their status at the meeting elevated from observer to stakeholder.
The status change meant the environmental organizations could have more say during the proceedings, rather than being limited to making written submissions in advance, and observing the meeting and asking questions at its conclusion.
The harvesters and processors claimed there was no place at the table for organizations — which the union called “extremist” — whose mandate is to close the fishery.
The environmental groups countered by saying ending the fishery is not their goal, although they do support at least a temporary halt until more conservation measures are in place and the health of the capelin stock improves.
The advisory meeting, which was held in Gander, was cancelled after efforts to get the disgruntled parties back failed and the environmental groups refused to leave.
TIME TO REBUILD
On Thursday, April 4, Oceana Canada issued a press release stating the parties, including environmental groups, fishing industry representatives, Indigenous rights holders and scientists, had met again to discuss the 2024 fishing quota and the state of the crucial forage fish stock.
These discussions come on the heels of DFO having determined that capelin in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Area 2J3KL has been lifted out of what’s known as the critical zone, a level at which harm is being done to the stock.
NAFO Area 2J3KL extends from southern Labrador to along the north, eastern and southern coasts of Newfoundland.
As has been acknowledged by DFO, Oceana Canada emphasized that capelin being lifted into the cautious zone does not mean there are more of the species in the ocean. The change is related to DFO having also raised northern cod, which consume capelin, out of the critical and into the cautious zone.
Oceana Canada says a temporary halt to the capelin fishery is needed to rebuild the stock.
The limit reference point, which represents the stock status below which serious harm is occurring to the stock, for 2J3KL capelin was revised by DFO from 640 kilotonnes to 155 kilotonnes.
In 2023, the total allowable catch for capelin was 14,533 tonnes, 78 per cent of which was landed by harvesters.
‘THRESHOLD OF DISASTER’
Oceana Canada says capelin has failed to adequately recover over the last 32 years, since the 1992 cod moratorium, and there should be a halt to the fishery until management measures are in place to support its recovery.
“Good fisheries management intends to maintain healthy populations, not manage them right at the threshold of disaster,” said Jack Daly, a marine scientist with Oceana Canada. “We cannot allow success to be just crawling above the limit reference point. DFO must proceed with caution and prioritize actions that rebuild this forage fish to abundance.”
Forage fish such as capelin, added Daly, are essential for ocean health.
“Capelin are food for species that support the tourism industry, such as puffins and whales,” he noted. “They are also important for local food consumption and culture, including the annual capelin roll spectacle.”
Oceana Canada’s news release stated capelin “lacks an upper stock reference to determine a healthy population size, a management plan and other science-based indicators that should be used to inform management decisions and support rebuilding the population to healthy.”
Without this information, “DFO continues to manage capelin in the dark,” the organization said.
‘UNINFORMED, ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMISTS’
The Telegram contacted DFO, the ASP and FFA W-unifor for response to Oceana Canada’s call for a temporary halt to the capelin fishery.
DFO and the ASP did not respond by deadline. FFA W-unifor, in a prepared statement attributed to Jason Spingle, the union’s secretarytreasurer, reiterated its objection to Oceana Canada.
“Today, Oceana issued a statement calling for the closure of the commercial capelin fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador, further cementing their status as uninformed, environmental extremists,” Spingle stated in an emailed response. “Changes to the stock assessment this year even took the stock out of the critical zone and DFO themselves state that the very small commercial fishery has little to no discernible impact on the trajectory of the stock’s growth.
“Advocating to close commercial fisheries, when existing evidence does not support that, shows that these organizations harm sustainable jobs and the coastal communities that rely on them. This only reinforces the fact that they should have no seat around federal management tables.”