Phase II of the reopening of the Unit 1 redfish fishery will no doubt be on the agenda when the Redfish Advisory Committee meets in the spring of 2026.
Phase 1, a two-year transitional period that concludes at the end of the second season on March 31, 2026, was designed to support data collection, allow harvesters time to prepare, further develop markets and ultimately create added value for redfish, said Axel Rioux, media relations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“In the first season following the reopening of the Unit 1 commercial redfish fishery (2024–25), 23 licence holders participated, landing a total of 3,219.3t (tonnes) of redfish — representing 5.4 per cent of the 60,000t total allowable catch (TAC),” said Rioux.
“At this stage (preliminary as of December 11, 2025) in the 2025–26 season, there are 8,041t in reported redfish landings for Unit 1, or 13.4 per cent of the 60,000t TAC. These landings include all fleets and landings from the 2025 experimental fishery and the commercial fishery. To date, 37 licence holders have been active this season, which runs through March 31, 2026.” Rioux said.
For the 2025–26 season, 3,000t of the 60,000t TAC has been allocated to support experimental fishing projects aimed at collecting data to inform fisheries management decisions, said Rioux.
“Harvesters may apply for access to this allocation by submitting an experimental fishing plan to DFO. Included within this 3,000t experimental allocation, harvesters also had the option to participate in a spring 2025 experimental fishery, which was intended to collect catch and bycatch data during the period when the fishery is normally closed to protect spawning redfish (May 15 to June 14),” he said.
Rioux said to date, eight licence holders have accessed the experimental allocation, landing a total of 1,446t of redfish, representing 48.2 per cent of the allocation.
“In the 2024–25 season, the redfish fishery operated from June 15 to March 31, with fishing activity occurring throughout the season. The majority of landings were taken during the winter months. At this stage of the current fishing season (2025–26), it is too early to provide information on the level of activity that may occur in the upcoming winter period, as participation can vary based on a range of factors, including weather conditions, market dynamics, and individual operational considerations,” said Rioux.
In response to stakeholder concerns and low catch rates during the 2024–25 season, DFO adjusted certain fishing management measures for the 2025–2026 season. Fishing was authorized in NAFO divisions 4RST for the entire length of the fishing season, from June 24 to March 31, and in NAFO subdivisions 3Pn and 4Vn from January 1 to March 31.
Fishing with all types of otter trawl, including bottom trawl, was authorized during the 2025–26 fishing season. Fishing was also authorized at shallower depths in summer than during the 2024–25 season.
The redfish fishery was under a moratorium from 1995 until 2024, when the Government of Canada re-opened it following the significant rebound in the stock’s population.
There are two key species of redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence: Sebastes mentella and Sebastes fasciatus. S. mentella lives in deeper waters, while S. fasciatus is found in shallower areas.
While the spawning stock biomass of deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) in Unit 1 has declined since 2020, it remains at high levels and in the healthy zone, said DFO stock assessment biologist Caroline Senay last summer.
In Unit 2, the population of Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus), found in shallower waters, is at the lowest level observed since 2000. The Unit 2 redfish fishery has an 8,500 tonne TAC.
There is a mix of both species in the catches.
