Unit 1 Redfish Management Plan 2025-26
Ottawa – June 16, 2025 – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) today announces the management plan for the commercial Redfish fishery in Unit 1 for the 2025-26 fishing season. A Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 60,000 tonnes (t) is established for a one-year period from May 15, 2025, until May 14, 2026. The commercial fishery will open June 24, 2025. Opening dates may vary following consultations with individual fleets.
From this TAC, 7,000 t will be set aside as a reserve allocation. This reserve allocation will be accessible by application to harvesters that have fished at least 75% of their quotas. An additional 3,000 t will be deducted from the TAC to support experimental fishing projects during the 2025-26 season, including the spring 2025 experimental fishing plan. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The remaining 50,000 t will be allocated as per the allocation key announced on January 26, 2024, below:
| Fleet | Allocation | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Offshore mobile gear (MG) fleet sector (vessels >100') | 58.69 % | 29,345.0 |
| Inshore MG fleet sector (vessels <65') | 14.84 % | 7,420.0 |
| Midshore MG fleet sector (vessels 65-100') | 5.72 % | 2,860.0 |
| Inshore fixed gear (bycatch) | 0.75 % | 375.0 |
| Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL) Shrimp Harvesters | 10.00 % | 5,000.0 |
| Indigenous communities and organizations | 10.00% | 5,000.0 |
| Reserve allocation | - | 7,000.0 |
| Experimental allocation | - | 3,000.0 |
| Total | 60,000.0 |
Fleet shares
The offshore allocation (vessels >100') will be distributed according to existing Enterprise Allocations for groundfish vessels in that fleet.
The inshore fleet (vessels less than 65’) shares will be as follows. Recognizing that some DFO administrative regions straddle multiple provincial boundaries, the shares to each region are also indicated in brackets.
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 41.2 | 3,059.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 4.2 | 315.4 |
| Gulf NS | (3.3) | (245.7) |
| Maritimes NS | (0.9) | (69.8) |
| New Brunswick | 7.3 | 540.7 |
| Gulf NB | (5.7) | (421.2) |
| Maritimes NB | (1.6) | (119.6) |
| Prince Edward Island | 3.4 | 250.3 |
| Quebec | 43.8 | 3,254.4 |
The midshore fleet (vessels 65’ to 100’) shares will be as follows:
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Crab vessels | 4.5 | 128.4 |
| Shrimp vessels | 39.2 | 1,119.7 |
| Groundfish enterprise allocation (EA) vessels | 56.4 | 1,611.9 |
The allocation of Redfish to Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL) shrimp harvesters, totalling 5,000 t, will be distributed as follows:
| Fleet | Share (in percentages) | Amount (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec | 42 | 2,100.0 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 37 | 1,850.0 |
| New Brunswick | 21 | 1,050.0 |
Bycatch caps
The Department will use the established bycatch caps for certain Gulf of St. Lawrence stocks subject to rebuilding plans to guide management of the Unit 1 redfish fishery. These bycatch caps for the Unit 1 Redfish fishery will be distributed proportionately to the allocation key, the 7,000 t reserve allocation, and the 3,000 t experimental allocation, as follows:
| Fleet | 3Pn4RS Cod (t) | 4T White hake (t) | 4TVn Cod (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inshore MG fleet (< 65’) | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Midshore MG fleet (65-100’) | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| Offshore MG fleet (> 100’) | 9.8 | 8.9 | 7.0 |
| Indigenous communities and organizations | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| EGSL shrimp harvesters | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| Reserve allocation | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Experimental allocation | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| Total | 20.0 | 18.0 | 14.2 |
The Department will monitor bycatch. Once a fleet reaches the caps indicated above, the Department will assess whether additional bycatch allowance can be re-allocated. Otherwise, the Unit 1 redfish fishery could be closed to that fleet for the remainder of the fishing season.
Management measures
The 2025-26 management plan adjusts several management measures in response to stakeholder views and fishery performance in 2024-25. Management measures may be adjusted at any point during the fishing season if deemed necessary by the Department.
Fishing season
- 4RST open June 15 - March 31
- 3Pn and 4Vn open January 1 - March 31
- All Unit 1 closed from April 1 - June 14 to protect Redfish spawning
Area restrictions
When fishing in NAFO divisions 4RST:
- Fishing is prohibited West of 65° longitude W at all times
- Fishing is prohibited East of 59°longitude W unless an at-sea observer (ASO) is on-board the vessel
- Fishing is prohibited in a NAFO division 4T sector along the south edge of the Laurentian Channel to protect juvenile groundfish, at all times
- Fishing is prohibited in a NAFO division 4T sector North of the Gaspé coast, unless an ASO is on-board the vessel
Fishing prohibited in established coral and sponge conservation closures at all times
Depth restriction
Fishing is prohibited at depths of less than 183 metres (100 fathoms) in all areas of Unit 1 at all times of year
Gear type
All types of otter trawl with a minimum mesh size of 90mm
Bycatch protocol
- Bycatch limit of 1% per trip for each of white hake, American plaice, and winter flounder in 4T, and cod and Greenland halibut in all Unit 1
- Bycatch limit of 2% per trip for Atlantic halibut in all Unit 1
At-sea Observer (ASO) coverage
100% ASO coverage required at all times of year for vessels larger than 100 feet
For vessels smaller than 100 feet:
- 25% ASO coverage required from June 15 to December 31
- 100% ASO coverage required from January 1 to March 31
Dockside monitoring
100% industry funded dockside monitoring
Reporting requirements
Daily catch reporting required for offshore and midshore EA fleets
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
- VMS required onboard and operational on all vessels fishing
- VMS reporting 4 times per hour (every 15 minutes)
Electronic Logbooks (ELOGS)
Mandatory use of a qualified ELOGS application for all inshore licence holders and midshore licence holders not under EA
Electronic camera monitoring
- Voluntary participation in electronic camera monitoring pilot project.
- Project requirements outlined in participant agreements and Licence Conditions.
DFO will work with license holders and fleet representatives in the coming weeks to implement the Unit 1 Redfish management plan for 2025-26 and prepare for fishery opening. This includes, among other things, the development of Conservation Harvesting Plans (CHPs).
Todd Williams
Chair, RAC
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