Question Period Note: Unit 1 Redfish

• On January 26, 2024, I announced the re-opening of the commercial Redfish fishery in Unit 1, with a total allowable catch of at least 25,000 tonnes.
• Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence shrimp licence holders and Indigenous harvesters will each receive 10 per cent of the allocation in order to provide economic support and help to advance Government of Canada reconciliation objectives, respectively.
• The inshore and midshore fleet allocations remain unchanged from the pre-moratorium fishery. The offshore fleet will receive the largest share, albeit slightly lower than their pre-moratorium share.
• My department sought views on the management plan for the 2024 season from a range of industry stakeholders, Indigenous communities and organizations, and provincial partners at the Redfish Advisory Committee meeting in March. Their input will inform my decision on the total allowable catch and other management measures for the 2024 season, which will be announced soon.

• There are two species of redfish, Sebastes mentella and Sebastes fasciatus, managed as one biological stock.
• The one stock is managed in two management units, Unit 1 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Unit 2 in the Laurentian Channel.
• Unit 1 has been under a commercial moratorium since 1995. An annual 2,000t index fishery has been in place since 1999.
• Redfish stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have been experiencing significant growth in biomass as a result of three strong recruitment year classes, born in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The 2018, 2020 and 2022 Stock Assessments put Sebastes mentella in the healthy zone, and Sebastes fasciatus in the cautious zone, up from previous designations of critical zone in Unit 1 where they had been for approximately two decades.
• An annual experimental fishery has been in place since 2018, ranging from 2,500t to 5,000t, to allow for the collection of data to inform management measures for a future commercial fishery. Catches have been low each year of the experimental fishery. Some challenges include low market value, redfish size, and bycatch concerns.
• The Unit 1 stock area overlaps with five other groundfish stocks in the critical zone of the Precautionary Approach framework and for which rebuilding plans have been developed pursuant to sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Fisheries Act.
• The most recent stock assessment (2022) indicated that the fish have been growing little for the past three years and there has been no significant recruitment (new baby fish) since the strong cohorts of 2011-2013. In addition, natural mortality may be higher than anticipated in recent years, possibly reducing the duration of the fishery.
• The next Redfish stock assessment is planned for 2025. The Department anticipates both stocks will remain in the healthy zone.

If pressed on when the fishery will open?
• DFO will continue to work with license holders and fleet representatives in the coming weeks to implement the management plan in preparation for the opening of the fishery as soon as possible.