Members of the province’s fishing industry agree a recommendation for a moratorium on the cod fishery on the province’s south coast doesn’t make sense.
The recommendation has caused the executive director of the Association of Seafood Processors and the FFAW to leave the table in negotiations that began this week on Canada-France co-management.
Processor Alberto Wareham of Icewater Seafoods in Arnold’s Cove—a year-round plant that employs more than 200 people—calls the recommendation based on a single year of science, “hasty,” and “uncalled for.” His primary customers are in the UK and France and are focused on sustainability.
He says if a moratorium is put in place, it will create a “major” problem.
FFAW President Keith Sullivan says while it’s better to be at the table, discussion of a possible closure of the fishery in 3Ps is “not acceptable.”
That’s based on a lack of consultation, recent changes to science, and the fact that fishing mortality is actually going down, says Sullivan.
MP Calling for Compensation Package if Moratorium Put in Place
A Liberal MP is calling on his own government to bring in a compensation package for fishery workers if it shuts down the cod fishery on the south coast, zone 3Ps.
Ottawa did so when it shut down the cod fishery province-wide in 1992, and Avalon MP Ken McDonald says a package would also be appropriate in this situation.
He says despite entire communities depending on the cod fishery, DFO has no recovery plan. If they spoke with people on the water, McDonald says they might learn a thing or two.
Provincial Fisheries Minister Asks Federal Counterpart to Pause Decision
Provincial Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless has written his federal counterpart, Bernadette Jordan, asking her to pause any decisions related to the closure of the cod fishery in 3Ps until more reliable scientific data can be accumulated.
Loveless tells Jordan that the economic impact of a closure of the 3Ps cod fishery cannot be underestimated.
He says significant concerns have been raised regarding the 2019 assessment model placing 3Ps cod in the critical zone. He urges Jordan to revisit the model and strengthen it based on advice from all industry stakeholders.