Inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are continuing to rally against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) decision to allocate a majority of Canada’s emergent redfish fishery to the offshore fleet.
According to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) Jason Spingle, the definition of offshore fleets has been twisted since the last time the redfish fishery was last active in 1995.
“They weren’t much bigger than some of the 65–70 footers are now, in regards of their overall capacity,” said Spingle. “You’re talking about 120–125-foot boats that were captained and crewed by people from the communities around Atlantic Canada, and all that fish was brought ashore and processed. It wasn’t an offshore fishery.”
As of January 26, 2024, DFO has allocated 58.69 per cent of the redfish allocation to the offshore fleet, 14.84 per cent to the inshore fleet, 5.72 per cent to the midshore fleet, 0.75 per cent to the inshore fixed gear fishery, and 10 per cent each to the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence shrimp harvester and Indigenous communities. Spingle said this split does not make fishing viable for the under 100-foot fleet or the shrimp harvesters who were supposed to benefit from this revitalized stock.
“Who just says, ‘You know, you and I can’t make it. I’m just going to pack this lifetime in, walk away with nothing and hope the best to you?’ That’s just not the way it works. So, it’s really disappointing,” said Spingle.
In response to what the union saw as a “corporate giveaway” of the redfish stock, the FFAW penned a letter to the office of the Prime Minister asking the government to step in and alter
DFO’s allocation strategy, warning of the dire consequences to the inshore fleet in the area if the management plan goes ahead as-is.
“Without a change now, we’re going to see the total decimation over the next months of that fleet of about 80 boats that supply those plants — two in Gaspé, Port au Choix, Anchor Point and St. Anthony — they’re just going to go out of business,” said Spingle.
Spingle said that for the inshore redfish fishery to be viable, an allocation between 40–50 per cent would have been needed. He said that the FFAW has put a lot of time and money into gathering and publishing scientific data on conservation of redfish, only for their investment to be overlooked when it came time to divvy up shares.
“It seems like all that is just ignored, really,” said Spingle. “It’s frustrating.”
Now, having appealed to the highest levels of government as well as forming a coalition with their Québec and New Brunswick counterparts to advocate for a larger piece of the pie, Spingle said the FFAW is running low on options if changes aren’t made by the
government.
“We may make more noise about it, but until something changes, we’re in a difficult position here,” said Spingle. “There’s just not enough there to get the boat off the dock.”
