Minister Raises Bay of Fundy Herring Quota, Ignoring Science and Threatening Recovery
Crucial herring population feeds groundfish, whales, and seabirds that support local fisheries and tourism — yet Ottawa increased the quota mid-season by 25%
Press Release Date: September 10, 2025
Halifax, N.S., Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People – On September 9, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) raised the quota mid-season for the Bay of Fundy/Southwest Nova Scotia herring commercial fishery by 25% to 20,000 tonnes. The decision was made without the usual consultation with the Advisory Committee.
This herring population has been in the critical zone since 2017, yet the new quota is one of the highest for forage fish populations in Canada.
In 2024, DFO set a four-year quota of 16,000 tonnes to provide “stability and predictability” to the fishing industry while a new science framework was being developed. At the time, science advice recommended a quota of less than 14,000 tonnes to rebuild the population. While 16,000 tonnes was already above that guidance, it represented a substantial reduction of fishing pressure.
To protest the 2024 decision, the fishing industry withheld the data needed to complete the 2025 stock assessment. Although DFO initially upheld the 16,000-tonne quota this year, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson later conceded to industry pressure and announced the highly unusual mid-season increase to 20,000 tonnes.
Jack Daly, marine scientist at Oceana Canada, issued the following statement in response:
“Minister Thompson’s decision to increase the commercial quota for critically depleted herring in the Bay of Fundy/Southwest Nova Scotia is out of step with science advice, legislative guidance, and Canada’s commitment to rebuild fisheries.
Atlantic herring are a crucial forage fish, providing food for the still-depleted groundfish fishery as well as for whales and seabirds that flock to the Bay of Fundy each year — supporting businesses and tourism operators throughout the region.
DFO must protect the future of this population and the Bay of Fundy ecosystem by reducing fishing pressure, completing the updated modelling framework, and implementing clear harvest rules in 2026 to remove politics from decision-making. Rebuilding forage fish here is both an ecological and economic imperative that will provide food and abundance to the communities who rely on the productivity of this region.”
Learn more at oceana.ca and sign our petition to rebuild wild fish: oceana.ca/RebuildAbundance.
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Oceana Canada was established as an independent charity in 2015 and is part of the largest international
advocacy group dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada has successfully campaigned to ban single-use plastics, end the shark fin trade, make rebuilding depleted fish populations the law, improve the way fisheries are managed and protect marine habitat. We work with civil society, academics, fishers, Indigenous Peoples and the federal government to return Canada’s formerly vibrant oceans to health and abundance. By restoring Canada’s oceans, we can strengthen our communities, reap greater economic and nutritional benefits and protect our future. Find out more at Oceana.ca.
