Moncton, New Brunswick (NB) – February 24, 2025 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announces the continuation of the closure for the directed commercial and bait spring fisheries for herring in Herring Fishing Areas (HFAs) 16A to 16G and 17 within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) division 4T and 4Vn in 2025 and 2026. The decision will be revisited for the 2027 fishing season.
The spring component of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) herring stock has been in the Critical Zone of DFO’s Precautionary Approach (PA) Framework since 2001.
Herring is an important forage species in the sGSL that plays a vital role in the ecosystem and the fishing industry. Under the PA Framework, when a commercially-fished stock is in the Critical Zone, management decisions must promote stock growth and removals from all sources must be kept to the lowest possible level until the stock has cleared the Critical Zone.