Posted: June 4, 2024 8:07 amOn Friday the Department of Fisheries and Oceans unveiled its management plan for Unit 1 redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the 2024-25 period.
The plan sets a Total Allowable Catch of 60,000 tonnes for the next year. The group says this number is seen as reasonable, however, the decision to allocate the majority of the quota to the offshore fleet has greatly disappointed inshore fleets and Indigenous groups in the Gulf of St Lawrence. “Many inshore harvesters, processing operators, and coastal communities were looking forward to a more equitable distribution of this resource among all fleets in the newly recovered redfish fishery in the Gulf,” said Bill Barry, founder and CEO of Barry Group Inc. “It appears that the proposals from the inshore sector and Indigenous groups were not given serious consideration by the DFO Minister,” Barry added.
Groundfish and shrimp fleets have faced significant challenges in recent years and had hoped that the redfish fishery would help alleviate economic struggles. The Newfoundland and Labrador Groundfish Industry Development Council will be closely monitoring other allocation decisions made by DFO.