Canadian provinces push for access to developing Unit 1 redfish fishery

Multiple provinces in Canada are pushing to get access to a developing fishery for redfish – which consists of two species of redfish that live in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian Channel areas – with groups from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all pushing for access to quota. The redfish fishery, made up of deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) and Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus) has been under a moratorium since 1995 after the stock collapsed. In recent years, populations of both species have recovered to a great extent, enough so that Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has already been running an experimental fishery in what it deems the Unit 1 area. New Brunswick Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries Minister Margaret Johnson said the return presents a “real opportunity” for the province, which has been preparing for the reopening of the fishery. The Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), which represents thousands of ...