June 16, 2021 — A new comprehensive fishery improvement project (FIP) has been launched by New Brunswick and Quebec seafood processors and fishermen associations, which they hope will lead to reduced entanglements with North Atlantic right whales.
The main objective of the new FIP is to regain Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for the fishery, which was suspended for Area 12 and Sub-Areas 12 E and 12 F in 2018 due to incidents resulting in right whale deaths. As part of the launch of the new FIP, the fishery has “decided to withdraw” from the MSC program to focus its efforts on the improvements needed to regain certification – in part because the FIP would run past the expiration date of the suspended certification – according to a release by the recently launched “snow crab zone 12.”