Fred Mifflin, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced that the quota for the commercial salmon fishery in Labrador has been set at 55 tonnes under the 1996 commercial salmon management plan. The fishery will open June 20, 1996.
Scientific advice continues to indicate that the stock status for Atlantic salmon is generally poor.
This is the second year that we have both delayed the traditional early June opening of the fishery and reduced the quota to below the previous year's catch. Mr. Mifflin characterized 1996 as a transitional year to enable alternative salmon management strategies to be explored for the Labrador fishery. It is evident that a long-term strategy is needed to reach conservation targets, and to accommodate the special conditions facing remote communities in Labrador that depend on the resource. He called on all stakeholders and other interested groups to work with the department to cooperate in the development of that strategy. This fishery provides one of the few economic and employment opportunities to coastal communities in Labrador.