When the Atlantic Canada cod fishery collapsed, fishermen turned to snow crab to support themselves. Now, the lucrative snow crab fishery is in trouble, according to a report delivered in June to federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Geoff Regan by the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council.
In a letter to Regan, FRCC chair Jean Guy d’Entremont said, “Based on its analysis, the FRCC concludes that the recruitment to the spawning stock and to the fishery is insufficiently protected under current fishing strategies and practices. In order to better protect snow crab recruitment, the Council recommends that fishing seasons be adjusted to minimize the catch of soft-shell snow crab, that the monitoring of soft-shell protocols be improved, that handling of mortality be reduced by ensuring proper training, awareness and regulatory structures for all participants and that fishing capacity be better matched with the productive capacity of the snow crab resource.”
In general terms, the report states: “Fishing strategies and fishing practices should optimize the protection of the incoming snow crab recruitment to the spawning stock and to the fishery; and there is a need to modernize the management of snow crab fisheries to standards of the twenty-first century.”
One specific recommendation that’s getting a lot of attention was: “The FRCC recommends that an independent, third party, apolitical structure be established to hold public hearings and make public recommendations on access and allocation issues.”
That responsibility now rests with Regan.
Other recommendations include setting a standardized season opening as close to April 1 as possible and closing as close as possible to July 15, reducing the Total Allowable Catch, using traps with a mesh of biodegradable twine, and that the number of fishermen be reduced.
The report added, “The Council is not suggesting that it is too late to establish a sustainable snow crab industry throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec, however, it feels that immediate conservation measures are required to reverse the trend being experienced in certain areas. Planning for the implementation of a more conservation oriented harvest and a clear partnership with industry should be a focus of discussion and efforts over the coming months.”
The DFO’s response is generally favorable, according to Barry Rashotte, Associate Director General, Resource Management in Ottawa. Noting that the report was still being reviewed at press time Rashotte said, “The department is generally supportive, but we’re still analyzing it and a detailed analysis will be forthcoming some time before the beginning of the next crab season.”
He added, “Since this season is over, we’ve sent word out to the four regions that have snow crab fisheries asking for response. We will also be holding a meeting, possibly by end of August, and we plan to prepare report by next season.”
One component under review, he said, is the entire issue of access and allocation.
FRCC Executive Director Arthur Willett said that the Council is also planning meetings with fishermen’s organizations and associations, probably in August, to discuss implementation of the report, and he added, “There’s lots of support for the report from fishermen.”
Among those organizations that presented testimony to the FRCC were the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, the Prince Edward Island Snow Crab Fishermen, NL Fixed Gear Association for Vessels Over 65 feet, 3K Full Time Crab Harvesters, 3L Inshore Snow Crab Cooperative Management Panel, and the Area 19 Snow Crab Fishermen’s Association.