Fish harvesters from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, who were given a quota in a recently re-opened commercial redfish fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, say fishing rules make it almost impossible to catch fish, reports the SaltWire Network.

Inshore harvesters from western Newfoundland protested outside the Barry Group fish plant in Corner Brook on Tuesday (Oct. 8), demanding the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) change the regulations that prevent them from fishing in shallow water.

Under the current rule, harvesters must fish at depths of at least 164 fathoms from June 15 to Oct. 31, a measure meant to reduce the chances of bycatch of other species. However, harvesters said the redfish in the fishing zone known as Unit 1 are at depths of 120-140 fathoms.

A trawl full of redfish from the 2023 experimental fishery on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada. While Unit 1 was closed to commercial fishing for 30 years, there had been an experimental fishery since 2019. Photo from Terry Ryan Facebook page

Six boats from the western region of the province tried to land redfish this week, said the Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union, which represents inshore fish harvesters in the province. They spent thousands of dollars on fuel and other costs but came home practically empty-handed because of the depth restrictions, according to union officials.

Recall that in January 2024, Canada's fisheries minister, Diane Lebouthillier, decided to end a 30-year moratorium on redfish in Unit 1, as reported by Undercurrent News.

The area was closed to commercial fishing in 1995 after catches dropped to 12,000 metric tons.

Since then, the biomass has grown to nearly 500,000t, according to a 2022 science assessment by the DFO.

The return of a commercial redfish quota was welcomed by inshore harvesters, who had seen revenues from coldwater shrimp drop with repeated quota cuts over the past decade. In 2024, the overall quota for the four shrimp fishing zones in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was 3,000t, a massive drop from the 14,000t quota in 2023.

"The bit of redfish is nearly all we have at this point," said Rendell Genge, who owns an inshore enterprise and fishes in the gulf.

In June, the DFO announced a 60,000t quota for redfish in Unit 1, as reported by Undercurrent. 

"We urge DFO to adjust the minimum fishing depth to align with the current location of redfish stocks, allowing harvesters to access this time-sensitive fishery," said FFAW secretary-treasurer Jason Spingle in a press release.