Good morning, Mr. Chair and colleagues, the regulars and the subs to the committee. It's a pleasure to join you from my home on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish nations and to attend with senior officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
For those who would prefer to hear my remarks in English, please listen to the interpretation.
Capelin is a small pelagic fish widely distributed throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and it plays an important role in the marine ecosystem as a key forage species for numerous marine fish, mammals and seabirds.
In the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, which represent the 4RST divisions of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, or NAFO, capelin is managed as a single stock. The spawning season of the stock begins in the upper estuary in late April and early May, and progresses eastwards and northwards in July and August.
Newfoundland and Labrador region is the department’s lead region managing the 4RST capelin stock. Its management is conducted through a multiregion advisory process involving the department’s Quebec and Gulf regions, as these three regions have fish harvesters with fishing access to the stock.
The 4RST capelin fishery dates back over 100 years and is currently managed on the basis of a single total allowable catch, or TAC.