Atlantic Mackerel – NAFO Subareas 3 and 4

Dates of season (subject to change)

May to November

Total Allowable Catches

Commercial TAC of 10,000 tonnes for 2018.

Management measures

A Canadian total allowable catch of 10,000 tonnes for the commercial fishery in 2018.

A temporary freeze on the issuance of new commercial mackerel licences for fixed and mobile gear will remain in effect. This includes the addition of new gear types to existing commercial licences. Under this measure there are no new commercial licences, however, current commercial licence holders are permitted to transfer licences.

DFO has implemented new reporting requirements to improve monitoring of landings in the commercial mackerel fishery for some fleets in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

Minimum fish size for commercial mackerel retention remains at 263mm.

Single or multi-year planning

This decision is for this year (2018) only.

Additional information

The Department undertook a new stock assessment for Atlantic mackerel in the spring of 2017 and presented the results to the Atlantic Mackerel Advisory Committee (AMAC). While the science assessment has shown some signs of slight improvement in the stock, the stock assessment indicates that the stock remains in the critical zone under DFO’s Precautionary Approach framework.

A Mackerel Rebuilding Plan Working Group has been established. The purpose of the working group is to bring representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), provincial governments, industry stakeholders, aboriginal groups and others with an interest in the fishery together in order to improve the management of Atlantic Mackerel fishery in Atlantic Canada. The Working Group will report to the AMAC which will then provide advice and guidance to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on the development of a Rebuilding plan for Atlantic Mackerel in Atlantic Canada.

Links to other information

An update of the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for Atlantic Mackerel is under development. The previous IFMP can be found at: ATLANTIC MACKEREL - Effective 2007 (no longer online)