A marine watchdog organization is concerned about the status of the capelin stock off Newfoundland and Labrador, and what it sees as the lack of a long-term management plan.

This year’s total allowable catch in 2J3KL, which is off Labrador, the northeast coast and the Avalon Peninsula, is close to 15,000 tonnes—roughly the same as it has been in previous years.

Jack Daly, a marine scientist with Oceana Canada, an advocacy group dedicated to ocean conservation, says capelin represents only one per cent of the total fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador. He feels it should be closed to commercial pressure or, at the very least, open but with a drastically-reduced quota.

Capelin is a forage fish, meaning other species, including northern cod, rely on it for food.

He says the heavy pressure on the stock will mean less of the silvery fish on the beaches, and a longer recovery period for cod. He says DFO in this province has no long-term vision and is simply employing crisis year-to-year management.

The FFAW says the science shows that the stock can sustain a higher quota than that allocated by DFO.