Question Period Note: Unit 1 Redfish

• The Redfish Unit 1 commercial fishery reopened in 2024 with a 60,000 tonne quota.
• The season closed on March 31, 2024, with approximately five per cent of the quota landed.
• My Department reviewed the first year of fishing and sought stakeholder views on management for next year at the Redfish Advisory Committee meeting on April 1 and 2, 2025.
• I am considering all input to inform the 2025-26 management plan, set to open on June 15, 2025.

• There are two species of redfish, Sebastes mentella and Sebastes fasciatus, managed as one biological stock. The one biological stock is managed in two management units—Unit 1 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and Unit 2 in the Laurentian Channel.
• Redfish stocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Unit 1) experienced significant growth in biomass as a result of three strong recruitment year classes, born in 2011, 2012, and 2013. The 2025 stock assessment indicated Sebastes mentella is in the healthy zone, and Sebastes fasciatus is likely in the healthy zone, but close to the cautious zone with some uncertainty and risk of overestimation.
• Unit 1 was under a commercial moratorium from 1995 until 2024. An annual experimental fishery was in place from 2018 to 2024, ranging from 2,500 tonnes (t) to 5,000 t, to allow for the collection of data to inform management measures for a future commercial fishery.
• On January 26, 2024, the re-opening of the Unit 1 redfish commercial fishery and a modernized allocation key were announced. On May 31, 2024, a total allowable catch of 60,000 t and the management plan for the 2024 season were announced for Unit 1 redfish.
• Approximately five per cent of the allocated 60,000 t quota for Unit 1 Redfish was landed in the 2024-25 fishing season, with the inshore fleet being the most active in the fishery.
• 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 approved, pursuant to sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Fisheries Act. The 2024 Unit 1 redfish management plan included measures to limit and monitor bycatch of these stocks.
• Bycatch caps stemming from rebuilding plans were not utilized in 2024, on account of low overall fishing activity. Stakeholders called for relaxing management measures to allow the fishery to develop more freely.
• The most recent stock assessment (of March 2025) indicated that the redfish have exhibited limited growth in body size for the past three years and there has been no significant recruitment (new juvenile fish) into the fishery since the strong cohorts of 2011-2013. In addition, natural mortality is higher than anticipated in recent years, possibly reducing the duration of the fishery.
• The next redfish stock assessment is planned for 2027.

If pressed on why catches this season have been low?
• Low landings may be due to a developing market, low prices, buyer shortages, and restrictive bycatch management measures.

If pressed on the restrictive management measures
• Bycatch limits and restrictions are key to protecting depleted groundfish stocks and avoiding early fishery closure, based on the best available science advice.
• These measures were discussed in detail at the April 1 and 2 Redfish Advisory Committee meeting.

If pressed on when Phase 2 is expected to commence
• Phase 2 of the Unit 1 Redfish fishery begins in 2026. Consultations on allocation sharing are ongoing with Indigenous communities, with inshore and midshore fleet consultations planned for 2025. My Department will continue working with stakeholders through the Redfish Advisory Committee to refine the management plan.