Canada: DFO raises striped bass bag limit in Gulf of St. Lawrence, keeps commercial quota the same

Published Apr 9, 2024

Tridge summary

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, under the leadership of Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, has opted not to implement a cull of the striped bass population in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence for the 2024 fishing season, despite the Atlantic Salmon Federation's calls for a significant population reduction to benefit salmon smolt survival. The decision, aimed at preserving the complex ecosystem, keeps the commercial fishery quota unchanged and slightly raises the recreational daily bag limit. This choice reflects concerns about the potential ecosystem impacts of a drastic striped bass reduction and acknowledges the species' 'cautious zone' status in fishery management, alongside the likely minimal effect of increased fishing on the overall population.

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Original content

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will not seek to cull the striped bass population in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier recently released a decision on commercial and recreational striped bass fishing regulations for 2024 that does not include measures to significantly reduce the species’ population. Earlier this year, the Atlantic Salmon Federation wrote Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) requesting that it significantly increase the commercial and recreational fisheries with a target of reducing the striped bass population by 80 per cent to 100,000 spawners. “There is a (salmon) smolt survival crisis in the Miramichi estuary,” reads a letter from the Atlantic Salmon Federation to the DFO committee tasked with advising the minister on striped bass management. “Smolt leave the river system at precisely the time when half a million predatory striped bass aggregate in the estuary to stage for spawning. During the last two springs (2022 and 2023), ...

Source: Saltwire