NAFO announces bottom fishing closures

The closures for sponge and coral concentrations adopted by NAFO are the first of their kind in the North Atlantic. They cover approximately 2,500 square nautical miles, roughly one and a half times the size of Prince Edward Island.

The re-opening of the 3M cod (Flemish Cap) and 3LN red fish fisheries in the NAFO Regulatory Area, outside Canada’s 200-mile limit, follows years of strict measures to rebuild these stocks and comes 10 years after they were placed under NAFO moratorium. To ensure that the re-opening is carried out responsibly and with a view to the long-term sustainability of the stock, Canada was instrumental in setting important additional measures for the fishery, including: total quota management, and a 5% by-catch limit for members without a 3M cod or a 3LN red fish quota allocation.

In addition, several other stocks currently under NAFO moratorium, such as American Plaice, are showing signs of recovery that are encouraging to fishery managers and the industry. Re-opening these fisheries is a signal to NAFO Contracting Parties that their efforts must continue and that, with sufficient time and precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches, we can effectively ensure the long-term sustainability of all fish stocks and preserve the economic opportunities on which our coastal communities depend.

Due to ongoing uncertainty over the status of the Greenland halibut stock, the total allowable catch was maintained at 16,000 tonnes for one year, with an agreement to establish a working group of fisheries managers and scientists to address some of this uncertainty and develop a risk management framework to help inform future management decisions for Greenland halibut. Contracting Parties have also agreed to additional investments in research to close the knowledge gap, and have reaffirmed their commitment to working together to ensure accurate catch reporting going forward.