Page 18. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2009
Canadian Commercial Fishing News
tion. (and in some cases, maximum size limits) for Sustainable Seafood Certification with the
Continued from Page 13.
There are 41 Lobster Fishing Areas in lobster carapaces (outer shell). Minimum Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
certification standards necessary to increase Canada spanning across the provinces of carapace size limits help to ensure that 50 % On August 6, 2008, Canada’s offshore
their global markets. Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New- of females have a chance to reproduce at least lobster fishery (Lobster Fishing Area 41)
“I am working closely with my federal foundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward once. That objective has already been entered full assessment for MSC certification
and provincial colleagues and the industry to Island. Most of the harvest occurs close to reached in many of the areas. as a sustainable fishery. MSC expects that
deliver the assistance that the lobster fishery shore, usually within 15 kilometres. There is In Canada, female lobsters caught bear- the assessment process will be completed in
needs to weather the global economic crisis,” also an offshore fishery that harvests in the ing eggs must be released to ensure that the or around July 2009. To learn more about this
said Minister Shea. “By working together we deep basins and outer banks off southwest- reproductive cycle can continue, i.e. that the assessment process, visit the MSC Web site
will see these challenging times through.” ern Nova Scotia, about 90 kilometres from females can grow larger, spawn several times, at
www.msc.org.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan pro- shore. and produce more and better quality eggs.
vides $1 billion over two years for the CAF, Management of the Fishery Some harvesters cut a small v-shaped notch Government acts to advance Canadian
which will help create jobs and maintain em- Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the in the female’s tail prior to its release. The v- Fisheries and Aquaculture Research
ployment in affected communities. The pro- lobster industry are working collaboratively notch remains visible for several years. Fe- CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI — The
gram is being delivered across Canada by to develop integrated management plans for males with this notch cannot be sold and Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries
ACOA, CED-Q and other regional economic the lobster fisheries in the 41 different fishing must be released. and Oceans, on behalf of the Honourable
development agencies through new initia- areas. These plans take into account the Trap designs are also regulated. They Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science
tives, existing programs, and bilateral agree- particularities of each lobster fishing area and must include escape mechanisms to reduce and Technology), announced funding for
ments with the provinces and territories. set out management measures accordingly. the retention of undersized lobsters, as well research that will keep the Canadian fisheries
The inshore lobster fishery is managed as biodegradable panels and rings to ensure and aquaculture industries competitive and
Canada’s Lobster Fisheries by effort control, which involves limits re- that traps lost-at-sea do not continue to catch sustainable.
2008 Export Value: $924,173,663 lated to gear and the number of fishing days lobster and other species (“ghost fishing”). “These research projects will boost the
Description rather than a quota system. Lobster fishing Some lobster fishing areas also have global competitiveness, productivity and
Lobster is Canada’s most valuable sea- seasons are designated for each lobster fish- management measures such as restrictions environmental performance of this important
food export, representing as much as $1 bil- ing area and they are staggered to protect on fishing at night and on Sundays to help Canadian industry,” said Minister Shea. “Re-
lion in export sales annually. More than 59 summer molts. Lobster landings average be- reduce fishing effort. search and development creates jobs,
countries from all corners of the globe enjoy tween 45,000 and 50,000 tonnes per year. strengthens the economy and improves the
lobster harvested in Canadian waters. The offshore fishery is open year-round Science Advisory Reports by the Canadian quality of life of Canadians. That’s why
Atlantic lobster is found along the eastern and the total allowable catch of 720 tonnes for Science Advisory Secretariat Canada’s Economic Action Plan includes a
coast of North America, in a habitat of rocks this fishery has remained unchanged since it The stock assessments for lobster are $5.1-billion dollar investment in science and
and seaweed that provides food and shelter was established. done through scientific peer review pro- technology initiatives.”
from predators. In Canada, lobster stocks are Managing environmental impacts cesses that include external experts and fish- The $8.8 million funding announced to-
most abundant in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence Several management measures are ermen. Stock assessments are done on a day is part of a new five-year initiative, led by
and in the coastal and offshore waters off implemented, in collaboration with industry, regular basis for all LFAs, either individually the Natural Sciences and Engineering Re-
southwest Nova Scotia. to limit the impacts of the fishery on the or in groups of LFAs. The results are made search Council of Canada (NSERC), to sup-
Harvest Methods and Locations environment. available to the public through the Web site port industry-driven research and develop-
Lobster harvesters still use a traditional Examples of conservation and manage- of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Canadian ment (R&D) in fisheries and aquaculture.
method to fish lobster: traps attached to lines ment measures include limiting the number of Science Advisory Secretariat at www.dfo- This funding, spread over three years,
are set out in the ocean and are hauled in to traps that each licensed harvester is allowed
mpo.gc.ca/csas. will support 23 strategic research projects in
retrieve the catch. This method maintains the to set and determining minimum size limits fisheries and aquaculture at universities
integrity of the seafloor by minimizing disrup- across Canada. For example, researchers at
Simon Fraser University in Burnaby will
study how the seafloor reacts to distur-
bances caused by fishing gear. Funding sup-
plied to the Memorial University of New-
foundland will support research into early
detection and better understanding of inva-
sive aquatic species.
These projects will train students in a
wide variety of disciplines related to fisheries
and aquaculture.
“In addition to generating new knowl-
edge and technologies for our fisheries and
aquaculture sector, this initiative will help
train the students who will drive innovation
for years to come,” said Dr. Suzanne Fortier,
President of NSERC. “We are ensuring a
bright future for this vital, historical indus-
try.”
In the previous three budgets, the Gov-
3 P C J O I P P E
ernment of Canada provided over $2 billion in
new funding for Science and Technology
(S&T). In Canada’s Economic Action Plan,
we are investing more than $5.1 billion in new
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funding toward S&T initiatives. This repre-
sents one of the single-largest federal invest-
( F P S H F U P X O
. B J O F ments in S&T to date. Together these mea-
r . P O J U P S J O H 7 ) ' $ I B O O F M
sures will contribute to the creation of a
X X X S P C J O I P P E N B S J O F D F O U F S D P N
stronger, more innovative economy and a
more prosperous Canada.
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P J O V T B U 3 P C J O I P P E . B S J O F $ F O U F S T N J E D P B T U . B J O F M P D B U J P O B O E
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