For over 20 years, Dale Richardson has walked up to the pulpit, harpoon in hand, aiming at swordfish.
“It’s a really exciting fishery,” said Richardson, who lives in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. “But with the changes in climate, weather patterns, etc., over the last few years, it’s become very difficult to sustain our existence.”
According to the Ecological Action Centre, harpooning swordfish — throwing a long spear into the water to catch a fish — is becoming increasingly difficult and less profitable for Nova Scotia’s commercial fleet as swordfish appear less and less frequently on the water’s surface.
In a report released Wednesday, the center said changing ocean conditions were preventing artisanal fishermen from using their already low swordfish quotas.
New equipment, welcome tourists
The group’s solution is for the swordfish harpoon fleet to use a single deep-water hook and line — called a rod and reel — and charge tourists a fee to board for an “exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Holly Isnor, marine campaigns coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, said scientific rod and reel licences have been used in the fishery since 2022 to test the equipment. She said the single-hook method was less prone to bycatch than long-line fishing, which can involve thousands of hooks in the water for hours.
“The fish are there, but they’re not on the surface where harpooners can find them,” Isnor said. “So adding rod and reel and charter options would increase their catch, increase their income streams and keep the fishery sustainable on the surface.”
I’m calling Ottawa
The Ecological Action Centre is calling on the Ottawa government to allow harpoon licence holders to use fishing gear and reel, and to allow them to offer fishing trips.
“Collaboration is going to be incredibly important to making this happen, but we really think this fishery can be an opportunity to showcase the ways in which we can adapt to changing conditions and think outside the box to keep fisheries sustainable in business,” Isnor said.
In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said catch rates using rod and reel were “very low” and that no further steps had been taken to test the gear.
Transport Canada, which is expected to approve the changes to allow tourists to board, has not yet commented on the matter.
SEE | Swordfish move north in Canadian waters:
Canadian scientists and fishermen are tracking the movement of swordfish north into Newfoundland waters, where the prized fish is caught in large numbers on the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap. Paul Withers has a story.
The resort says a licensee could earn $61,000 a year by offering three five-day fishing trips to two passengers per season. That kind of tourism could generate $2.5 million a year if just 25 percent of the 184 harpoon license holders in the coastal region were charter fishing.
“To supplement our harpoon fishery, we thought it would be fun to hire one or two people to go out and try to catch swordfish from deep water,” Richardson said.
“It would help cover some of the overhead costs and expenses — maybe even better — and attract tourists to the region and surrounding areas,” he said.
Swordfish are found in Canadian waters from spring to fall, most commonly near the shelf edge off the southern coast of Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
Richardson said rod-and-reel trials have yielded above-average landings on the Grand Banks. He said that since 2022, trials of the method have yielded minimal bycatch on lines that are about 1,200 feet deep.
“We just think it’s the right way forward,” Richardson said.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans allocates 10 per cent (138.4 tonnes) of Canada’s swordfish catch annually to harpoons, while the remaining 90 per cent is caught on long lines.
