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St. John’s NL – Today the Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries
and Oceans announced the conversion of four exploratory fisheries to commercial
fisheries.
"When I was first named Minister, I said our new government would look for ways
to squeeze more benefit out of the fishery now while working to ensure future generations
will benefit from a thriving fishery," said Minister Hearn. "Actions like this recognize
the entrepreneurial spirit of fish harvesters, but are guided by principles of conservation."
Today’s announcement includes a sea urchin dive fishery; shrimp beam trawl fishery;
and toad and rock crab fisheries. Conversions of the licences result from over a
decade of Fisheries and Oceans and fish harvesters working together to demonstrate
that unfished or underutilized marine species can be successfully harvested in a
sustainable manner.
"The fact that we are able to convert these four fisheries to commercial fisheries
is a credit to the hard work and cooperation between government and industry," says
Minister Hearn. "These new fisheries offer important opportunities for the preservation
and development of coastal regions and communities. This is another example of how
our government is investing in rural Newfoundland and Labrador."
The exploratory harvesting of these four species has gone through a comprehensive
process outlined in DFO’s Emerging Fisheries Policy. The process has three stages
involving scientific, habitat, stock, commercial and market assessments. At every
stage the process is guided by conservation principles. Information on the abundance,
distribution and productivity of the target species is identified as a key requirement
for the development of management strategies. Healthy and abundant fishery resources
supporting sustainable uses is the vision of this program.
A total of 60 sea urchin licences, 9 shrimp beam trawl licences, 170 toad and
30 rock crab licences will be issued.
Backgrounder: New Emerging
Fisheries Policy
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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Erika Pittman
Communications Officer
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(709) 772-7626
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Steve Outhouse
Communications Director
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ottawa
(613) 992-3474 |
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NR-NL-07-39E |
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