Thank you.
Thank you very much for inviting me to participate today. I'm joining from Mi’kma’ki, and I'm here representing Oceans North, a Canadian charity that supports marine conservation and sustainable fisheries in partnership with coastal and indigenous communities.
I started working on mackerel in 2014 when the TAC, the total allowable catch, was set at 10 times more than DFO's scientific advice and the stock was already critically depleted. Since that time, I have been engaged in mackerel science and management alongside DFO, industry and indigenous groups in an effort to see the stock recover.
Atlantic mackerel have been critically depleted for more than a decade now, and the spawning stock biomass, or the estimate of stock abundance, is at the lowest level ever recorded. Also, while mackerel can live up to 20 years, we rarely see fish more than five years old now. This is a common feature of overfishing. Over many years, the fish that are caught get smaller and smaller. Fewer fish are also surviving long enough to reproduce.
Fisheries rebuilding is now legally required under the Fisheries Act, and mackerel are among the priority species, a move that was supported by all parties. A rebuilding plan for mackerel was released in 2020, after several years of collaboration and sincere effort from industry to recommend measures and take action to rebuild the stock. Unfortunately, a year later, we failed to achieve the lowest objective: seeing positive growth in the stock.
Oceans North is of the strong view that the minister's decision to close the commercial and bait fisheries for Atlantic mackerel in 2022 was evidence-based, difficult, but ultimately necessary.
We understand that the 2022 closure had immediate financial consequences for the industry, but while the short-term financial pain is real, it could lead to long-term gains. The benefit of a rebuilt stock is often overlooked in the economic analysis of fisheries quota reductions. In 2020, Oceans North released a cost-benefit analysis conducted by Gardner Pinfold Consulting on the economic benefit of rebuilding mackerel. It revealed that minimizing fishing could lead to benefits estimated at over $54 million. That's a 12.9% return on the investment of rebuilding the stock to healthier levels. A rebuilt stock can benefit everyone and the ecosystem.
The reliance on the critically depleted mackerel stock as bait for many in the lobster industry has been a topic of discussion between industry and DFO, the NGOs and the Marine Stewardship Council since at least 2015. One study estimates that up to two pounds of bait could be used for every pound of lobster caught. The problem isn't mackerel per se; it's the sheer volume of raw fish used.
Luckily, several companies and research institutions have been working on alternative bait products over the last several years. One study has found that an alternative bait fished just as well as traditional bait but had the added benefit of lasting longer.
We applaud the researchers and companies trialing baits that use less fish and the harvesters who are experimenting with these products. This needs to continue through increased investment in trials.
We often hear that the science isn't taking fishermen's views into account. However, industry is present for, and contributes meaningfully to, DFO's peer-reviewed assessments. DFO also established an industry-science working group for mackerel in 2020 to address gaps in science needs and observations. There were also many indigenous colleagues around the rebuilding table who strongly believed in the science and supported rebuilding actions.
It's not just DFO that's reporting similar declines. The United States, with whom we share this population, has been seeing similar negative trends. In 2020, the U.S. enacted an emergency action to drastically reduce their quota after their rebuilding plan also failed. The two countries need to continue to work together to rebuild the stock. Here at home, surveys of recreational fishers have found they have also noticed declines in fish abundance and size over time, corresponding to the scientific assessments.
The closure of the mackerel fishery was based on strong scientific evidence, fisheries observations, and DFO law and policy. Previous efforts to rebuild the stock through management measures and quota declines have failed. Closing the fishery was necessary to rebuild the stock for the future of both the industry and the ecosystem.
Thank you for your time.