Question Period Note: Nunatsiavut Government seeking access to the Northern shrimp fishery

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware of the Nunatsiavut Government’s request for a shrimp allocation in the Eastern Assessment Zone.
• Decisions for the 2020-21 fishery take into consideration obligations of all applicable land claims agreements respecting allocations, as appropriate, including the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (LILCA).
• The Department recognizes that the Nunatsiavut Government interprets some requirements of the LILCA differently. The Department remains open to continuing discussions to better understand its views.
• The Government of Canada is committed to, and working towards, a renewed, Crown-Inuit relationship with Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.

• The Nunatsiavut Government (NG) has intensified longstanding efforts to secure a shrimp allocation in the Eastern Assessment Zone (EAZ). The NG’s objective is to seek access to the EAZ at large, specifically by way of an allocation amounting to 11 per cent of the overall Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for two shrimp species (Pandalus borealis and P. montagui).
• On September 11, 2020, decisions were released on TAC levels and allocations for both species (Pandalas borealis and P. montagui) in the EAZ and WAZ. The decision was to maintain current access in these areas for the 2020-21 fishery.
• Historically, the NG’s arguments for access in the EAZ have involved an interpretation of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (LILCA) with which DFO officials have disagreed.
• The NG currently has direct access to the offshore Northern shrimp fishery through proportional shares of quota in Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFA) 4 and 5, at 10.0 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively. The NG also benefit partially with interests in the Northern Coalition, a collective of interests/members, who hold a special allocation in SFA 5.
• The NG and Nunatsiavut Inuit interests more broadly accrue additional fishery interests from 1.5 offshore licences held by Labrador Inuit fishing enterprises (namely, Pikalujak and Torngat Fish Producers Co-op). Interest in these offshore licences provides access to all SFAs and the EAZ, with the exception of the WAZ.

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