Leading biologist in Newfoundland calls for end to capelin fishery

A leading biologist in Newfoundland and Labrador says the recovery of capelin is so important that the province’s commercial fishery for capelin roe — known as masago among sushi fans — should be stopped.

“It essentially feeds all of the large vertebrate predators in the Northwest Atlantic,” said Bill Montevecchi, a well-known research professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s.

“But the population crashed, for reasons we think have to do with their food, climate change and (other factors). Nothing has been normal with capelin for two decades ... Things are out of whack.”

The estimated biomass of capelin plunged from six million tonnes in 1990 to about 150,000 tonnes in 1991 — a decline that coincided with the collapse of the cod stocks and an increase in the harp seal, crab and northern shrimp populations.

Capelin are also an important source of food for seabirds, seals and several species of groundfish, including cod — once the backbone of commercial fishing in the province.

Easing fishing pressure on the capelin could be crucial to the province’s cod fishing industry as surveys continue to suggest cod stocks are finally on the rebound after being virtually wiped out by overfishing, mismanagement and environmental factors, Montevecchi said.

The problem with the capelin fishery, he said, is that it focuses on catching females with eggs.

“You’re not only fishing what you catch, you’re essentially fishing the next generation.”

The inshore fishery, which started in the 1970s, peaked in the late 1980s, with landings averaging about 80,000 tonnes a year, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Earlier this season, Newfoundland fishermen landed more than 26,000 tonnes of capelin. That’s about 5,000 tonnes more than the annual quota.

About a dozen companies process capelin across the province. The landed value in 2015 was $10 million, up by 11.5 per cent from 2014, according to the province’s Fisheries Department.

Earlier this month, World Wildlife Fund Canada issued a statement saying the fisheries for capelin and other so-called forage fish — including herring and mackerel — are poorly understood in terms of scientific assessment.

“Populations of large predators like humpback whales, along with seabirds and commercial species such as cod, will never recover if they don’t have enough food to eat,” David Miller, CEO of WWF-Canada, said in the statement.

“It’s shocking that many of these fisheries are being managed without adequate information about the stocks.”

Alejandro Buren, an aquatic sciences biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said he doesn’t agree with Montevecchi’s suggestion that the capelin fishery should be shut down.

The relatively small size of the fishery does not warrant such a move, he said.

However, Buren said it’s essential that the population be monitored effectively, noting that there was no capelin survey this year.

And he agrees that targeting egg-bearing fish is a problem.

“Fishing on spawning fish can have an impact on the populations,” he said in an interview. “Some management on the timing may be appropriate.”

Buren said it’s clear that the capelin population remains in deep trouble despite some positive signs of growth in recent years.

“It’s nowhere close to where it used to be, prior to the 1990s. It’s encouraging, (but) I wouldn’t be over-confident with only two or three years of buildup.”

Montevecchi said he’s hoping the federal government and the industry will do the right thing.

“The fishery is really changing perspective for the better,” he said. “People are coming to the realization that best practices are important, and you make more by catching fewer, high-quality fish.”