Ottawa – May 31, 2024 – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) today announces the management plan for the commercial Redfish fishery in Unit 1 for the 2024-25 fishing season. A Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 60,000 tonnes (t) is established for a one-year period from May 15, 2024, until May 14, 2025. The opening date will be confirmed in a separate Notice to Fish Harvesters.
From this TAC, 5,000 t will be set aside and held in reserve. This reserve allocation will be accessible by application and is intended to provide additional incentive to licence holders who participated in the index and/or experimental fishery, as well as those who are ready to fish this year, and/or those who have planned projects for the Redfish fishery. A Notice of Interest will be sent ahead of the fishery opening. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The remaining 55,000 t will be allocated as per the allocation key announced on January 26, 2024, below:
| Fleet | Allocation (in percentages) | Amount (t) |
|---|---|---|
| Offshore mobile gear (MG) fleet sector (vessels >100') | 58.69 | 32,279.5 |
| Inshore MG fleet sector (vessels <65') | 14.84 | 8,162.0 |
| Midshore MG fleet sector (vessels 65-100') | 5.72 | 3,146.0 |
| Inshore fixed gear (bycatch) | 0.75 | 412.5 |
| Indigenous communities and organizations | 10.00 | 5,500.0 |
| Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (ESGL) Shrimp Harvesters | 10.00 | 5,500.0 |
The allocation to Indigenous communities and organizations, totaling 5,500 tonnes, will be managed through an inter-regional competitive regime. Any Indigenous community or organization that holds an inshore (<65 ft) or midshore (65-100 ft) mobile gear groundfish licence with access to Unit 1 (4RST and 3Pn, 4Vn from Jan-May) can access this allocation. A Notice of Interest will be sent ahead of the fishery opening.
The allocation of Redfish to Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (ESGL) shrimp harvesters, totalling 5,500 t, will be distributed as follows:
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec | 42 | 2,310.0 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 37 | 2,035.0 |
| New Brunswick | 21 | 1,155.0 |
The inshore fleet (vessels less than 65’) shares will be as follows:
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 41.2 | 3,366.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 4.2 | 343.1 |
| New Brunswick | 7.3 | 596.4 |
| Prince Edward Island | 3.4 | 277.8 |
| Quebec | 43.8 | 3,578.5 |
Recognizing that some DFO administrative regions straddle multiple provincial boundaries, the total share for Maritimes region will be 2.54% (207.5t) and the total share for Gulf region will be 12.36% (1,009.8t).
The midshore fleet (vessels 65’ to 100’) shares will be as follows:
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Crab vessels | 4.5 | 141.3 |
| Shrimp vessels | 39.2 | 1,231.7 |
| Groundfish enterprise allocation vessels | 56.4 | 1,773.1 |
The offshore allocation will be distributed according to existing enterprise allocations for groundfish vessels in that fleet.
The Department will use the established bycatch caps for certain Gulf of St. Lawrence stocks subject to rebuilding plans to guide management of the Unit 1 redfish fishery. These bycatch caps for the Unit 1 Redfish fishery will be distributed according to the allocation key and the 5,000 t reserve allocation, as follows:
| Fleet | 3Pn4RS Cod (t) | 4T White hake (t) | 4TVn Cod (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve allocation | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| MG>100’ | 10.8 | 9.8 | 8.1 |
| MG<65’ | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| MG 65-100’ | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Indigenous fleet | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Gulf shrimp fleet | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Total | 20.0* | 18.0 | 15.0 |
*This total bycatch amount is pending approval of the 3Pn4RS cod management plan for 2024-25.
The Department will monitor bycatch landings. Once a fleet reaches the caps indicated above, the Department will assess whether additional bycatch allowance can be re-allocated and may close the Unit 1 redfish fishery to that fleet for the remainder of the fishing season.
The management plan for Unit 1 Redfish also introduces several management measures aimed at limiting and effectively monitoring bycatch, to ensure that this fishery is carried out sustainably. These management measures and requirement are summarized below:
-
Fishing season
- 4RST open June 15 - December 31
- 3Pn and 4Vn open January 1 - March 31
- All Unit 1 closed from April 1 - June 15 to protect Redfish spawning
- Area Restrictions
- Fishing is authorized only between 59°and 65° West longitude
- Portions of division 4T closed to fishing to protect juvenile groundfish, as specified in CHP
- Fishing prohibited in established coral and sponge conservation closures
- Depth Restriction
- From June 15 to October 31, fishing authorized only at depths greater than 300m (164 fathoms)
- From November 1 to March 31, fishing authorized only at depths greater than 183m (100 fathoms)
- Gear Type
- From June 15 to October 31, fishing authorized with otter trawl with a minimum mesh size of 90mm
- From November 1 to March 31, fishing authorized only with midwater trawl with a minimum mesh size of 90mm
- Bycatch protocol
- Bycatch limit of 1% per trip for each of 4T white hake, 4T American plaice, 4T winter flounder, 4TVn cod, 3Pn4RS cod, Atlantic halibut, and Greenland halibut.
- At Sea Observer (ASO) Coverage
- 100% ASO coverage required at all times of year for vessels larger than 100 feet
- For vessels smaller than 100 feet:
- 25% ASO coverage required from June 15 to October 31
- 100% ASO coverage required from November 1 to March 31
- Dockside Monitoring
- 100% industry funded dockside monitoring
- Reporting Requirements
- Daily catch reporting for all fleets
- Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
- VMS required onboard and operational on all vessels fishing
- VMS reporting 4 times per hour (every 15 minutes)
- Electronic Logbooks (ELOGS)
- Mandatory use of a qualified ELOGS application for all inshore licence holders (<65’).
- Electronic Camera Monitoring
- Voluntary participation in electronic camera monitoring pilot project
DFO will work with license holders and fleet representatives in the coming weeks to implement the Unit 1 Redfish management plan and prepare for fishery opening. This includes, among other things, the development of Conservation Harvesting Plans (CHPs).
Todd Williams
Chair
RAC