DFO ship woes hampering East Coast science surveys

Atlantic Canada's fishing industry is frustrated with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for its continued failure to carry out scientific stock assessment surveys on the East Coast.

DFO has missed multiple surveys as it struggles to bring new offshore fishery science vessels into service, and aging ships near retirement. Sailing restrictions imposed early in the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the problem, but so too have breakdowns on older ships and part replacements needed on the two new ships stationed on the East Coast.

"DFO's repeated failures to successfully deliver on the science surveys component of their mandate negatively impacts the ability to monitor and understand the impacts of climate change, develop effective rebuilding plans for struggling fish stocks and ensure sustainable ocean and fisheries management can be achieved for the benefit of all Canadians," said Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents large seafood company.

The science surveys are used to assess the health of major fish stocks and are critical in determining quotas for commercial fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Atlantic Canada.

"There's huge consequences. We want to know what's going on. We need the data," said Carey Bonnell, vice-president of sustainability and engagement at St. John's-based Ocean Choice International, which is a seafood company.

"If the stock is doing well, there is an opportunity for growth, we want to take advantage of that opportunity. Conversely if there are changes taking place in abundance we need to take measures to maybe rein it in, cut back a little bit on some of these quotas," Bonnell said.

He said he's been told by DFO the fall science survey off Newfoundland will be largely missed for a third straight year and his understanding is there will be limited data in 2023 to contribute to science and stock assessment.

The department missed most of the spring survey off Newfoundland this year and eastern Nova Scotia got no coverage at all during the 2022 summer survey.

$788M spent on 3 new ships

DFO has not responded to written questions that were submitted in late October about the surveys.

Canada spent $788 million on three offshore fishery science vessels to carry out fishery surveys under the national shipbuilding strategy.

Two are stationed on the East Coast: CCGS Jacques Cartier, based in Dartmouth, N.S., and CCGS John Cabot in St. John's.

Aging vessels

They will replace the 40-year old CCGS Alfred Needler at the end of the year and the 34-year old CCGS Teleost in March 2023.

A critical step in bringing the new ships into service is so-called "comparative fishing."

That's when the new vessel trawls side by side with an older vessel.

The differences between older and newer vessels — trawl performance and noise levels — are then calibrated to ensure continuity in the data series.

By maintaining the data series, comparative fishing ensures DFO can track long-term changes in marine ecosystems.

However, DFO has failed to complete comparative fishing since CCGS Cartier arrived in Nova Scotia in 2019 and CCGS Cabot in 2021.

In Nova Scotia, during the summer survey, only 93 of 250 planned comparative fishing trawls with Teleost and Cabot were completed.

"The Department must find viable solutions to this growing problem and work with the fishing industry and other stakeholders to ensure future survey success," said Vascotto.

Comparative fishing has been far more successful in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Questions in Ottawa

Members of Parliament are also asking questions.

"I am being told by different witnesses appearing here and in meetings that DFO stock assessments are not keeping pace with what the department is mandated," P.E.I. Liberal MP Robert Morrissey asked a DFO official at a parliamentary fisheries committee on Oct. 7.

"A lot has been missed in past years. Correct or not correct?"

Arran McPherson, DFO's assistant deputy minister for science, said DFO is fully committed to doing the surveys with its coast guard colleagues.

"We have had difficulties and challenges since the beginning of the pandemic as we transition to new vessels," she said at the hearing.

McPherson said at the time comparative fishing was underway off Newfoundland.

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