cover image: OVERLOOKED  & UNDERVALUED: - THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR REBUILDING FORAGE FISH

OVERLOOKED & UNDERVALUED: - THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR REBUILDING FORAGE FISH

30 May 2024

Fisheries that target forage fish species are some of the largest in the world, and there In order to estimate the value of leaving forage are 17 forage fish stocks in Canada that have fish in the water, this study conducted a cost- helped to support coastal livelihoods and local benefit analysis using the critically depleted ecosystems. [...] The value of herring left in the water was estimated at When the value of forage fish both in and out 66% of the commercial catch value, based on of the water is considered, the results can research that suggests the value of the catch is support stock rebuilding and ecosystem-based at most 1/3 of herring’s total value. [...] When the SSB falls below the LRP, the stock is considered to be in the critical zone of DFO’s precautionary approach framework.7 According to DFO’s management framework, when a stock is in the critical zone, fishing should be kept to the lowest possible levels in order to rebuild the stock. [...] The goal of the rebuilding process is to get the SSB above the LRP and out of the critical zone, but the long-term management goal is to rebuild stocks to the healthy zone. [...] Since the catch price represents 33% of the total value, the value of the herring Table 1: Estimated forage fish value for Atlantic herring ($2022)   Tonnes Value % of Total 2021 $/kg in (000s) $ Value 2022 Herring left in the water (SSB) 182.7 $184,781,454 66% 3 $1.01 Catch 32.6 $92,390,727 33%3 $2.83 PAGE 8 RESULTS The results of the cost-benefit analysis revealed that a rebuilt herring stock co.

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Pages
12
Published in
Canada