Despite the great fanfare, and controversy, surrounding the federal government’s decision to reopen the redfish fishery this year, the resource has proven uneconomical.
That’s according to the CEO of Ocean Choice International, Blaine Sullivan, who says redfish are too small and need more time to grow before it proves to be an economical fishery.
While the reopening of the fishery was initially welcomed, the local fishing industry was surprised when details on allocations were finally revealed, with the bulk of the quota going to the offshore fleet out of Nova Scotia.
Provincial fisheries minister Gerry Byrne even accused the federal government of “moral dishonesty” at the time, for creating demand for a quota that was “out of step” with the resource.
Sullivan says the redfish are still too small.
“As you are probably aware, there’s a huge quota available, and very few people have taken any of it,” says Sullivan. “The reason for that is the economics are not in it yet. There are concerns that the growth rate is slowed…so we have to keep monitoring that situation.”