Canada reopens Atlantic redfish fishery after nearly 30-year shutdown

Canada is officially reopening its redfish fishery for the first time in 30 years as part of a larger transitional plan for fisheries in the nation's coastal communities. The Canadian redfish fishery consists of two species of redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian Channel areas – deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) and Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus). Populations of the two species collapsed in 1995, but Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has been running an experimental fishery to determine whether it could open up again. Now, the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec will all get quotas for a new fishery after provinces lobbied for months to gain access to what was once a significant livelihood for fishers in Atlantic Canada. Canada Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Diane Lebouthillier said the changes come as Canada faces tough choices regarding the future of its fisheries. ...