Minister Changes Goal Posts on Mackerel Rebuilding, Maintains Commercial Closure
July 6, 2026
HALIFAX – Last week, Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson announced that the total allowable catch (TAC) for Atlantic mackerel will increase from 500 tonnes to 1500 tonnes for the bait and bycatch fisheries—a threshold that provides just 51.5 percent probability of stock growth over the next year.
While the commercial fishery remains closed due to the depleted state of the mackerel stock, the choice to increase the bait and bycatch TAC reverses a two-year quota set by the minister last year, which aligned with the stock’s rebuilding plan and its 75 percent stock growth probability milestone.
The decision comes on the heels of a new assessment prompted in part by a recent increase to the United States’ mackerel TAC (mackerel is a transboundary stock shared by the US and Canada). The assessment found that the Atlantic mackerel population remains in the critical zone, with stock sizes reaching only 52 percent of the species’ limit reference point. Since 2015, the stock has not experienced any notable recruitment events, and very few fish over six years old remain in the population. It also found that no amount of Canadian mackerel removals would increase the stock by a probability that aligns with the stock rebuilding plan.
“The stock was growing slowly, and this choice puts further recovery in jeopardy.”
– Katie Schleit, Fisheries Director
In order for this year’s TAC increase to comply with the Fisheries Act—as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) commitment to rebuilding depleted stocks—Minister Thompson changed the rebuilding plan, lowering the targeted stock growth probability to greater than 50 percent.
“The mackerel rebuilding plan was created out of a multi-stakeholder forum consisting of harvesters, Indigenous representatives, science, management, and environmental groups over the course of several years, guided by the fish stocks provisions,” says Katie Schleit, Director of Fisheries at Oceans North. “If there is no decision that meets the rebuilding plan goals, the answer should be precaution—not increased quota.”
Rebuilding the Atlantic mackerel stock would have significant economic benefits for Canada. In 2020, Oceans North hired Gardner-Pinfold Consulting to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of rebuilding the mackerel stock, based on the results of the management strategy evaluation (MSE) completed in 2019. The study revealed that improving the health of the mackerel stock could generate over $54 million—a 12.9% return on the investment that is stock rebuilding.
Given the current state of the stock and the value of rebuilding, Oceans North is urging Minister Thompson to consider decisions that better align with Canada’s legal obligation to rebuild fish stocks.
“For a department claiming that ‘nothing is left to chance when it comes to sustainability,’ this decision leaves the recovery of mackerel stock up to a coin flip,” says Schleit. “The stock was growing slowly, and this choice puts further recovery in jeopardy by moving away from higher milestones for the probability of rebuilding.”
For more information, please contact:
Alex Tesar
Communications Director
Oceans North
[email protected]