An 11-year closure is over: the commercial northern shrimp fishery off eastern Newfoundland is reopening, and it arrives alongside a sharp rise in the region's cod quota -- a one-two of good news for harvesters that conservation scientists say is being rushed.
Canada's Fisheries Minister, Joanne Thompson, confirmed in late June that Shrimp Fishing Area 7, in the domestic waters off eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, will open for the 2026-2027 season with a total allowable catch of 1,367 tonnes. The zone had been closed since 2015 after the stock was assessed in poor shape. A stock-assessment framework rolled out last year now rates the shrimp population in the 'healthy zone,' the trigger for a controlled reopening.
"The shrimp fishery supports thousands of jobs on Canada's east coast," Thompson said. "By reopening the commercial fishery in SFA 7, we are continuing to support the fishing industry on Canada's east coast and everyone who makes a living from it."
Weeks earlier, Ottawa had lifted the northern cod quota by 55 percent, from 38,000 to 59,000 tonnes -- the first such increase since the stock climbed back into the healthy zone for the first time since the devastating 1992 moratorium. Seventy percent of the cod catch was reserved for the inshore fleet, raising its allocation to 41,300 tonnes.
"Northern cod is part of who we are in Newfoundland and Labrador," Thompson said. "This increase in the Total Allowable Catch is what science-based management and real conversations with harvesters, Indigenous communities, our provincial partners, and industry make possible."
Oceana Canada is not celebrating. The group says both decisions cash in on a recovery that has not fully arrived. "Increasing the quota for northern cod prioritizes short-term catches over the long-term stability of this fishery," said fishery scientist Rebecca Schijns, warning the stock is not yet rebuilt. "DFO should make decisions that strengthen recovery and result in a stable and resilient stock and fishery."
The group is angriest about capelin, the forage fish cod depend on, whose quota held steady at 14,533 tonnes. "Minister Joanne Thompson is moving forward with short-sighted management that fails to prioritize the long-term growth of Canada's fish populations," said marine scientist Jack Daly, who argued that fishing spawning capelin undermines the cod rebound: "Continuing to allow a commercial capelin fishery that targets roe-bearing females will not lead to long-term abundance." He urged DFO to "adopt a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach that protects these critical small fish that drive an abundant, resilient ocean."
The department says it will keep a close watch on the shrimp stock, and a 9.4 percent share long held by a Prince Edward Island consortium is being held in reserve for now. For Newfoundland's harvesters, the traps and lines are going back out. Whether that marks a genuine recovery or an early bet against one is the question the coming seasons will answer.
