Late last week a sustainability and conservation plan developed by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) on behalf of lobster harvesters in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region of Canada was approved under the Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures Programme. The plan comprises three elements: a science and conservation plan to be implemented in all Newfoundland and Labrador Lobster Fishing Areas and in southwest and western Newfoundland, trap reductions, and a lobster enterprise retirement program. By working together to reduce the number of traps in the water and facilitating the retirement of some fishers, the Federal and Provincial governments along with the union have taken steps to rationalize the industry – a format which some say may pave the way for future rationalization of other elements of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishery.
