| Recover Capelin and Northern Cod by Pausing the Commercial Capelin Fishery | |
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Source: GLOBE NEWSWIRE |
4/4/2024 |
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Mi’kma’ki, traditional, unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People -- Today, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) met with representatives from the fishing industry, Indigenous rights holders, scientists and environmental groups including Oceana Canada to discuss this year’s fishing quota for the severely depleted capelin fishery (NAFO area 2J3KL), a primary food source for Newfoundland and Labrador marine ecosystems. This follows news that capelin is now out of the critical zone because of lowering the threshold that determines the critical zone designation, rather than an increase in the number of fish in the water. Below, Oceana Canada outlines what is needed to rebuild this vital fishery. |
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Topline: Capelin is still depleted at just 9 per cent of its historical biomass and must be rebuilt for the ocean, marine life and coastal community health. A new reference point that determines the point at which the population can be considered critically depleted has been lowered from 640 to 155 kilotonnes, now placing capelin in the cautious zone. This is in response to an updated science assessment of northern cod and has led to calls from some members of the fishing industry to increase commercial capelin fishing quotas instead of allowing the population to rebuild to the healthy zone. |
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