Canada, U.S. fail to reach agreement on quota for shared haddock stock in 2023 | 24CA News

Canada and the United States have, for the primary time, didn’t agree on a shared quota for the transboundary haddock inventory on the Georges Bank fishing grounds off southern Nova Scotia.

The two nations have collectively managed the haddock fishery — and two different straddling shares — since 2000, however had been unable to achieve a consensus for the 2023 haddock quota. 

“While Canada and the U.S. tried to negotiate a shared haddock total allowable catch … our countries will be setting our own total allowable catch independently of the other,” wrote Kathy Cooper-MacDonald, senior advisor, Fisheries Management in Maritimes Region on Dec. 28.

The disagreement centred on the dimensions of the quota reduce.

“Everybody agreed that a large reduction was required, but the size of large is not defined,” mentioned Alain d’Entremont, president of Scotia Harvest, operator of a groundfish fleet and processing plant in southwestern Nova Scotia.

He is a Canadian business consultant and co-chair of the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee, which helps negotiate quotas.

“I don’t think we’ve caused irreparable damage to the agreement.”

What both sides wished

The quota has been steadily declining as the large variety of haddock hatched in 2013 died off or was caught.

Canada proposed an general 4,000-tonne quota shared between the nations, a 71 per cent reduce from 2022.

The U.S. refused to go above 3,619 tonnes.

d’Entremont mentioned there have been totally different interpretations of the science.

“What we’re seeing now is … some signs that the stock might be returning to more traditional growth patterns and productivity which is positive,” d’Entremont mentioned from the Scotia Harvest plant, exterior Digby, N.S.

“There’s still a bit of divergence in terms of how quickly the stock productivity is changing.”

U.S. doesn’t settle for Canadian “optimism”

The American place was posted in November..

“The U.S. does not support the logic for optimism with the Eastern Georges Bank haddock stock, and is concerned about its observed decline through 2021. Until projected improvements are realized, the U.S. believes fishing mortality rates should be reduced consistent with the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee harvest strategy to promote rebuilding.”

What is at stake for Canada

In 2021, the haddock fishery on the Canadian facet of Georges Bank had a wharf worth of greater than $12 million on 6,997 tonnes.

The fishery employs tons of of individuals on the water and in fish vegetation in southwestern Nova Scotia.

U.S. landings from the transboundary inventory had been round 500 tonnes in 2021 however its catch within the western a part of Georges Bank off Massachusetts is decreased if the Canadian quota is larger.

What Canada determined

In the top Canada caught with its quantity and set its quota at 2,320 tonnes in 2023, based mostly on an allocation components that sees catch cut up 58 per cent to Canada and 42 per cent to the U.S..

Both sides will resume negotiations later within the 12 months with a brand new scientific inventory evaluation.

“I don’t think that this is a relationship that’s poisoned or anything like that,’ said d’Entremont.

When Fisheries and Oceans Canada released the 2023 haddock quota last week, it expressed similar hopes.

“Canada appears ahead to subsequent 12 months’s inventory evaluation and we’ll proceed efforts to return to an settlement with our American companions, each time attainable, relating to complete allowable catch recommendation for our shared shares,” Fishieries and Oceans Canada manager Kathy Cooper-MacDonald told industry on Dec. 28.

The department did not respond to questions from 24CA News.

The New England Fisheries Management Council — a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — did not provide comment either.

Impasse only once before on yellowtail flounder

The other two Georges Bank stocks jointly managed are cod and yellowtail flounder, a flatfish.

The transboundary process is made up of government and industry representatives from both countries and has been very successful.

It failed to reach agreement only once before — in 2009 for the 2010 shared quota for yellowtail flounder.

“The lack of ability to achieve consensus threatens the way forward for the co-operative administration by the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee MGC course of,” the committee reported in 2009.

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