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Capelin weir fishery in the St. Lawrence Estuary
Ministerial Appearance at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans - April 13, 2022

Table of contents

Opening remarks

Good morning, Mr. Chair. It’s a pleasure to join you from my home in the territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh (Slay-WA-Tooth) Nations, with senior officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

I will start by providing a brief overview of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence Capelin stock and its management, before speaking in more detail about the capelin weir fishery in the Estuary and the specific request to modify its opening date.

Following my remarks, I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Capelin is a small pelagic fish. In the northwestern Atlantic, they range from western Greenland and Hudson Bay in the north to Maine in the south. They are widely distributed throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence and play 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 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization divisions (4RST), capelin is managed as a single stock. The upper estuary represents the westernmost limit of capelin distribution in the St. Lawrence.

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; however, its management is conducted through a multi-region 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 (TAC). Historically, Gulf capelin have been mostly landed by the Newfoundland seiner fleet in area 4R – the area of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near the western coast of Newfoundland.

Quebec capelin fisheries do not occur in that portion of the Gulf, and instead only take place in areas 4ST – the eastern portion of the northern Gulf and in the southern Gulf. The Province has a small scale weir fishery in the estuary that has opened on May 1 in previous years, while the main fishery in Quebec occurs in June in area 4S, off the coast of Blanc-sablon on Quebec Lower North Shore.

As mentioned, the capelin weir fishery in the estuary is small in scale, with only two active licence holders. This fishery targets capelin during beach spawning events.

In April 2021, the licence holders involved in the capelin weir fishery in the estuary requested the advancement of the opening date of their fishery to April 1, from the usual May 1 opening.

At that time, the 2021 stock assessment and advisory committee had already taken place, which were respectively held on March 18, 2021 and on March 26, 2021.

The next 4RST capelin stock assessment is scheduled to begin on April 20 and the advisory committee will be held a few days later on April 25, 2022. 

The licence holders’ request to advance the opening date of the Capelin weir fishery in the estuary will be discussed at the April 25 advisory committee meeting, as part of the ongoing process to assess the advancement of this fishery’s opening date to April 1, beginning in 2023.

This consultation approach regarding modification to management measures is consistent across all fisheries in Canada.

The Department is committed to working with the industry to maximize fishing opportunities, while always taking into account conservation as a priority.

I am happy to answer any questions related to this work.

Thank you.

Capelin – lifecycle and reproduction

Capelin are small pelagic fish. Capelin have a circumpolar distribution throughout the arctic and subarctic regions of the world.

In the northwestern Atlantic, they range from western Greenland and Hudson Bay in the north to Maine in the south and are most abundant around Newfoundland.

Since the early 1990s, they have been observed in greater numbers in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Scotian Shelf.

Some stocks of capelin spend the bulk of their lives offshore, moving inshore only to spawn on beaches, while other stocks live their entire lives offshore, spawning on the bottom in deep water such as in the Barents Sea, in Icelandic waters, and on the Southeast Shoal of the Grand Bank.

Capelin are distributed throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence and play an important role in the marine ecosystem as a key forage species for numerous marine fish, mammal and bird species.

The spawning season in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is protracted and begins in the upper estuary in late April and early May and progresses eastwards and northwards in July and August.

Between 2005-18, 89 per cent of beach spawning events in the St. Lawrence estuary occurred after May 1.

The percentage of beach spawning events occurring before May 1 was greater than 10 per cent during a few years. Some of these were characterized by earlier-than-normal sea ice break-up.

Ice conditions showed near record-low values in 2021 across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but were closer to the long-term average in 2022.

4 RST capelin stock assessment

There is no limit reference point in place for this stock. The data available for the stock assessment includes: reported commercial landings; a fishery performance index derived from commercial landings of the 4R seiner fleet; capelin bycatch by the shrimp trawler fleet in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and, biological samples from commercial catches from the Department’s summer multispecies bottom-trawl surveys covering the southern and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In the last stock assessment conducted in March 2021, new capelin relative abundance indices derived from bottom-trawl catches and demersal fish diet were presented for the first time. These indices will be officially integrated in the next stock assessment scheduled to begin on April 20, 2022.

In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, estimated fishing mortality levels are at least one order of magnitude smaller than natural mortality.

Because capelin have a short lifespan and populations consist of only a few age groups, their abundance is subject to large fluctuations and these variations are mostly regulated by environmental factors.

There are correlations between capelin conditions and environmental conditions – for example,  the timing of ice retreat and summer surface temperature.

Modelled simulations based on these correlations suggest that recent ecosystem conditions are generally favourable to capelin productivity.

Basis for opening dates

The 4RST capelin stock temporal availability for fishing is different in the estuary compared to the rest of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. For the past 10 years, the Capelin weir fishery in the estuary has had a May 1 opening date.

The request to advance the opening date of the Capelin weir fishery in the estuary will be discussed at the next 4RST capelin advisory committee on April 25, 2022, as part of the ongoing process to assess the advancement of this fishery’s opening date to April 1, beginning in 2023.

The Department is committed to working with the industry to maximize fishing opportunities, while always taking into account conservation as a priority.

Difference between Quebec and Newfoundland capelin fisheries

Newfoundland and Quebec regions both have commercial fisheries targeting the 4RST capelin stock. The 4RST capelin TAC sharing arrangements percentages are 86.12 per cent in 4R and 13.88 per cent in 4ST.

Quebec region capelin fisheries occur in 4ST. The region has its small scale weir fishery in the estuary (4T); it has opened on May 1 in previous years, while the main fishery in Quebec occurs in area 4S near Blanc Sablon in June.

Historically, capelin have been mostly landed by the Newfoundland seiner fleet in area 4R, which has, on average, landed 80 per cent of the total landings from 1985-2020, and 86 per cent of the TAC from 2010-20.

Factual timeline of Conservation and Protection incident

Between April 4 and April 6, 2021, the offender allegedly fished and sold illegally caught capelin; the individual was not authorized to fish for this species on these dates. This file is still under investigation and no further information can be released.

The opening of the capelin weir fishery in the estuary is set by Conditions of licence, in which conditions that fishers must abide to are detailed, including the opening date of May 1 in this case.

Because a licence is not complete without associated Conditions, fishing without Conditions of licence or fishing while breaking any of the Conditions of licence is a contravention of the Fisheries Act.

Capelin - background

Question & Answers

Question 1

Why is May 1 the season opening date?

Answer

The opening date of the capelin weir fishery in the estuary was set on May 1, as per the opening date written in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 for that area.

The request to advance the opening date will be discussed at the next 4RST capelin advisory committee on April 25, 2022. There is an ongoing process to assess the advancement of this fishery’s opening date to April 1, beginning in 2023.

Question 2

When do stock assessment normally take place - calendar or cycle? What are the dates of recent stock assessments?

Answer

The capelin stock assessment is conducted every two years.

The previous capelin stock assessment was scheduled for mid-March 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The stock assessment was then performed in March 2021 in order to avoid having a 3 year gap in the process. Data from the 2020 fishery was included in the 2021 assessment.

The stock assessment scheduled in 2022 corresponds to the regular stock assessment cycle.

Question 3

Why do stock assessments take place when they do? (E.g., data, landings, comparisons, etc.)

Answer

The capelin stock assessment is usually in the winter (spring in 2022) to ensure that the most complete biological and commercial landings data are available and to allow the time necessary for the stock biologist to perform the analyses and prepare the assessment.

Biological samples are processed between September and November and data are then available in December. Commercial landing data are available between late fall and early winter, depending on the region.

Question 4

Was the usual schedule different in 2021 or 2022? If so, why?

Answer

The capelin stock assessment is usually performed between mid-February and early March. In 2021, it was performed slightly later (mid-March) because of COVID-related limitations.

The 2022 stock assessment is scheduled for next week (April 20), which is one month later than the 2021 assessment due to unexpected capacity challenges and the highly specialized nature of this work.

Question 5

Are regulatory changes required to address this issue (change season opening dates)?

Answer

The Department does not need to change regulations to address this issue; the Department changes an opening date using its Variation Order regulatory authority.

Question 6

If no regulatory change is required, what is the process for changing a season opening date?

Answer

The Department will first consult with the fishery’s advisory committee (meeting being held April 25).

This consultation will seek to inform the Department of the views of others in the fishery and whether any would view this season change as having a negative impact on them. Then, should the Department decide that a season change is warranted, a Variation Order would be issued to implement the change in season, beginning in 2023.

Question 7

Is climate change (and a warming ocean) impacting capelin migration?

Answer

Because capelin have a short lifespan and populations consist of only a few age groups, their abundance is subject to large fluctuations and these variations are mostly regulated by environmental factors.

The 2021 stock assessment for capelin in the St-Lawrence Gulf and Estuary has documented a correlation between capelin conditions and environmental conditions, for example, timing of ice retreat and summer surface temperature.

Modelled simulations based on these correlations suggest that recent ecosystem conditions are generally favourable to capelin productivity.

Question 8

Does DFO have an approach to climate change adaptation?

Answer

Ecosystem conditions are included in science advice on fish stocks. The Department is also studying the effects of changing ocean chemistry on marine species and the interaction with other climate stressors and conditions – for example, temperature, ocean circulation, and freshwater input.

The Department also conducts fisheries vulnerability assessments which consider species resiliency and is working to incorporate climate-change considerations into fisheries stock assessments.

Question 9

We know the Minister shut down other important forage fish fisheries, such as Atlantic mackerel and Spring herring. Does the Minister intend to take the same approach with capelin, regardless of the impact on coastal communities who depend on these fisheries?

Answer

The Minister will make her decision on the 4RST capelin fishery based on the most recent scientific information, which will be available after the stock assessment, scheduled to begin April 20.

The advisory committee, which includes the fishing industry, will be held a few days later on April 25. The Minister’s decision will come afterward, with consideration given to the scientific information as well as recommendations from the industry.

Question 10

What socio-economic analysis has the Minister undertaken to inform her decision on capelin?

Answer

Over the 2009 to 2019 period, the landed value of the capelin fishery in NAFO Divisions 4RST ranged from a low of around $600 thousand in 2017 to a high of approximately $4.6 million in 2019.

Based on Newfoundland and Labrador Region data, the average annual landed price for capelin has also varied over the past decade, from a low of approximately $0.05/lb in 2010 to a high of $0.27/lb in 2019.

Iceland and Norway are also major capelin exporters. The capelin fishery in these countries typically peaks during the months of January to March, much earlier than the capelin fishery in Canada.  As a result, capelin exports from these nations may influence the level of Canadian capelin exports from year to year. 

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