Photo via DFO The FFAW is shocked by the moratorium on mackerel fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador and calls on the DFO to reverse the decision. The union calls the DFO decision a “drastic step” given the positive signs of stock growth. FFAW President Keith Sullivan, accusing the DFO of incompetence, says the department fails to adequately assess species critical to the New Earth and Labrador economy, resulting in fish farmers and plant workers suffering. The union has been calling for more research on mackerel for many years, given what it says are significant changes in distribution and spawning standards that are not being taken into account in current DFO investigations. Trevor Jones, a harvester at LaScie, says harvesters know that DFO is significantly underestimating mackerel biomass. The union is calling for an urgent meeting with Secretary Joyce Murray to discuss the dire consequences of the closure of the fishery and the factory workers. DFO statement
