When is food fishery in newfoundland 2011

Examining fisheries contributions to community food security: Findings from a household seafood consumption survey on the west coast of Newfoundland. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 8 2. Published here under license by The Resilience Alliance. Go to the pdf version of this article. The following is the established format for referencing this article: Lowitt, K.

The science and conservation plan includes enhanced science and data collection primarily from the use of mandatory fishing logbooks, a harvester science field book, and an at-sea sampling program. The science and conservation plan will apply in all Newfoundland Lobster Fishing Areas. Fishing logbook data provides useful scientific information on fishing effort, catch and numbers of traps lost.

A logbook program is used in most commercial fisheries and is part of licence conditions at no extra cost to harvesters. The harvester science field book program will provide additional detail on catch and effort to help verify the data collected under the mandatory log book program. It will also provide additional data on recruitment and abundance along with other observations. In addition, the plan will result in reduced fishing effort through trap reductions and a lobster enterprise retirement program.

A strategic placement of nets may also reduce bycatch. Turbot gillnets are much less likely to catch snow crab in deeper water than they are in depths less than fathoms. After the cod stocks collapsed, the province's catch of shellfish steadily increased and today dominates the industry. Shrimp and crab are the two most valuable species harvested. This transition underscores the deep ecological changes that decades of overfishing have brought about.

As cod and other groundfish declined in numbers, the species they preyed upon — including shrimp and crab — increased. The resulting shift in fishing effort, from top predators to smaller prey species, is known as 'fishing down the food web. As of , the cod stocks have not yet recovered and it is unknown when or if they will.

There have been changes to the management of commercial fisheries in the wake of the moratorium. These include the introduction of fishing gear that trap fewer young fish and bycatch species; the posting of more independent observers on offshore fishing vessels; and the inclusion of more fishers, scientists, and other relevant personnel in fisheries management.

Despite these changes, concern persists that overfishing remains a problem and that the federal government is slow to implement the many changes that scientists and fishers recommend. After years of rising quotas in the snow crab fishery, for example, the stock showed signs of decline in This prompted a quota cut from 61, tonnes in to 51, tonnes in , and again to 43, tonnes in Quotas remained below 48, tonnes until , when they were raised to 54, tonnes.

It is critical that government and industry learn from past mistakes to sustainably manage present and future fisheries. The ocean has been a pillar of the Newfoundland and Labrador economy for centuries; it has also helped to shape our culture and heritage.

Preserving its health should be of paramount importance. Article by Jenny Higgins. Related Subjects Environment Fishery Share and print this article:.