Question Period Note: ATLANTIC MACKEREL RECREATIONAL FISHERY REGULATORY AMMENDMENT

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to supporting the health of the fish stock and the associated recreational and commercial mackerel fisheries over time.
• The regulatory amendments to the Atlantic Fisheries Regulations were posted on Canada Gazette October 10, 2020 for a 30- day public comment period.
• The amendments would close recreational mackerel fishing every year from January 1 to March 31; set a daily limit of 20 Atlantic mackerel per person when fishing recreationally; and increase the minimum size for possession to 26.8 cm for both commercial and recreational fishing to help protect juvenile fish.
• These amendments support the Government of Canada’s efforts to rebuild the stock of Atlantic mackerel and contribute to conservation objectives. This regulatory change has overall positive benefits for the future sustainability of this fishery.
• DFO has consulted with Indigenous groups, partners, harvesters and stakeholders, and received wide support on the proposed amendments.
• DFO is targeting spring 2021 for final publication of the amended regulations.

• Atlantic Mackerel is a popular and important commercial, recreational and bait fishery, used to provide bait for shellfish fisheries (lobster and crab) throughout the Atlantic regions.
• Atlantic Mackerel biomass is low and continues to be in the Critical Zone of the Precautionary Approach Framework. Recruitment in 2017 and 2018 are at all-time lows.
• Regulatory amendments to the Atlantic Fisheries Regulations, 1985 were posted on Canada Gazette October 10, 2020 for a 30- day public comment period. The amendments would close recreational fishing every year from January 1 to March 31; set a daily limit of 20 Atlantic mackerel per person when fishing recreationally; and increase the minimum size for possession to 26.8 cm for both commercial and recreational fishing to help protect juvenile fish.
• The recreational fishery for Atlantic mackerel is currently unregulated, which is a significant enforcement challenge. In the absence of a daily fishing limit, recreational fishers can land unlimited mackerels (anecdotally sometimes more than 500 lbs per day). The absence of a recreational fishing limit creates the potential for commercial-scale fishing to continue under the guise of a recreational fishery, after the commercial fishery has been closed. The proposed regulatory amendment is a new daily limit of 20 mackerel per person for the recreational fishery, to help ensure that harvests are of a recreational nature.
• The lack of an established recreational season creates a loophole allowing some fishers to incidentally take other species when those fisheries are closed (e.g., Atlantic salmon, trout, striped bass). The proposed regulation would establish a yearly close time from January 1 to March 31. The proposed establishment of a close time in regulations would continue to allow for seasons and/or harvest limits to be varied through variation orders. It would permit closure of the recreational fishery during a commercial fishery closure for conservation reasons.
• The regulations also propose to increase the minimum size for fishing, buying, selling or possessing Atlantic mackerel to 26.8 cm (currently 26.3 cm by a variation order), for both commercial and recreational fishers. This minimum size was determined during the March 2019 stock assessment as it reflects the length at which 50 per cent of Atlantic mackerel would be considered sexually mature.
• DFO has consulted with Indigenous groups, partners, harvesters and stakeholders, and received wide support on the proposed amendments.
• Regulatory amendments to the Atlantic Fisheries Regulations, 1985 could come into force in March-April 2021.These amendments build upon actions DFO has taken in recent years to help support stock rebuilding. Since 2018, DFO has made significant improvements in catch monitoring, enhanced measures to protect spawners, and increased funding for science. To help reduce pressure on the stock, the Department has also put an Atlantic-wide freeze on new commercial mackerel licences and reduced the 2019 Total Allowable Catch by 20 per cent.
• In 2017, the Department formed the Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding Plan Working Group, comprised of Indigenous groups, harvesters, processors, environmental non-government organizations, scientists and the provinces, to develop a plan to help rebuild the stock and bring it out of the critical zone. The rebuilding plan will be posted this year.

ATLANTIC MACKEREL MANAGEMENT 2020
• Fishery management decisions are informed by scientific evidence and made in full consultation with stakeholders.
• We recognize the economic importance of the mackerel fishery to the Atlantic provinces and I am committed to working with industry to manage this fishery in view of conservation concerns.
• Our Government is committed to creating economic opportunity and financial stability while ensuring the sustainability of the mackerel fishery.
• The most recent mackerel stock assessment confirmed that the Atlantic Mackerel stock continues to be in the Critical Zone.