Canada allocates 125,000 striped bass to support Indigenous communities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Canadian Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard has decided to grant an additional allocation of up to 125,000 striped bass for the development of communal commercial fisheries in Indigenous communities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

With this latest contribution, a total of 50,000 striped bass have now been allocated to the Indigenous community of Natoaganeg as part of a pilot project to develop a sustainable and viable communal commercial fishery.

Additionally, the Department will consult with commercial fishers in the southern Gulf, including lobster fishers, to assess the possibility of retaining a certain number of striped bass caught as bycatch starting in 2025.

According to the Government, recreational anglers can retain a maximum of four striped bass measuring between 50 and 65 cm per day, provided they adhere to the possession limit of four striped bass.

This represents an increase from the three-fish limit established in 2018 and is the highest allowable limit in all of eastern North America.

Just a few days ago, Canada designated its largest marine protected area: Tang.ɢwan — ḥačxwiqak — Tsig̱is, which is located approximately 150 kilometers off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Historical environmental context in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has worked in recent years to provide progressive access to Indigenous food, social, and ceremonial fisheries, as well as to communal commercial fishery and recreational fisheries.

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, Diane Lebouthillier, explained that "after a population collapse in the late 1990s, the striped bass in the southern Gulf is making a comeback, even to the point of competing with other valued species in the region".

DFO benchmark trap-net scientists have confirmed that, according to the catches recorded in 2022, there is a maintenance of a relatively stable spawning abundance of striped bass in recent years. It is worth noting that this organization operates independently of the fishery.

"With today's announcement, our government is taking concrete actions to manage the striped bass population, create economic opportunities for coastal communities, and advance on the important path of Reconciliation," Lebouthillier confirmed.