The FFAW is requesting that DFO reopen the Atlantic Mackerel Bait Fishery and extend the fishery for another week.
DFO closed the three-day fishery on Sunday, citing conservation reasons as landings approached the second 235 tonne portion of the total allowable catch.
FFAW Secretary-Treasurer Jason Spingle says given the fishery’s short duration and “the clear abundance that harvesters” saw, “it is well within reason” for the union to request another opening.
He says extending the fishery for another week would have been fairer and would have provided valuable information to bridge gaps in information on the stocks.
Spingle says another opening to allow local harvesters a reasonable opportunity to catch some bail, is “low hanging fruit for DFO” and the abundance being witnessed by harvesters suggests that the biomass of mackerel is being underestimated.