NLIS 1
May 8, 2001
(Fisheries and Aquaculture)

Minister calls upon Ottawa to allocate new shrimp quotas to the province

Gerry Reid, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, today called on Herb Dhaliwal, federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, to increase the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) on the Northern shrimp fishery and allocate the increase to Newfoundland and Labrador.

"I have written Minister Dhaliwal, and requested that he increase the TAC as per the recommendation of the Northern Shrimp Advisory Committee," said Mr. Reid. "I further requested that the minister announce the increase as soon as possible and allocate new quotas to existing licence holders. Minister Dhaliwal has committed that no new access to the Northern shrimp fishery will be considered until the Independent Panel on Access Criteria (IPAC) has completed its work, therefore any new allocations should go to existing players."

In his letter to Minister Dhaliwal, Mr. Reid also restated the province's position on the allocation of Newfoundland and Labrador resources to interests outside of the province. "Any increase to P.E.I.'s current quota of 1,500 tonnes, or any move to make that temporary quota permanent would be unacceptable," added Mr. Reid. "I reiterated to the minister that any fish resources adjacent to this province must be allocated for the benefit of Newfoundland and Labrador fishing interests and communities."

Allocations for the 2001-2002 Northern shrimp fishery are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Media contact: Elizabeth Matthews, Communications, (709) 729-3733.

2001 05 08                                                           9:50 a.m.