Can Rod and Reel Gear Save Nova Scotia’s Swordfish Harpoon Fleet?

Changing seas are affecting swordfish behavior, and that’s having devastating effects on Nova Scotia’s sustainable harpoon fleet. To keep the fishery going, the fleet wants to add rod and reel gear as well as charters. In a new report, the fleet and the Ecology Action Center of Canada predict that charters could bring in annual income increases of $2.5 million CAD ($1.8 million USD). And by adding additional gear, license holders would raise their total catch, which has been lower than their allowed quota in recent years.

Solutions for a historic fishery at risk

“This fleet is one that has been happening in our region for well over 100 years,” Holly Isnor, the marine campaign coordinator at the Ecology Action Center, told TriplePundit. “It's a very clean, sustainable option [that] provides local jobs.” 

As a highly skilled trade, harpoon fishing is not something Isnor wants to see lost. “Proposing the options of rod and reel and chartering but maintaining the catches within the current quota would enable that increase in economic return that the fleet needs to stay afloat,” she said. 

The quotas for the swordfish harpoon fleet are already low, but the even lower returns have resulted in fewer boats going out, Isnor said. With the amount of time it takes to travel far enough offshore, the days spent at sea, and the cost of fuel, it’s not worth the trip if there aren’t any swordfish that can be harpooned. 

Dwindling catches aren’t related to the population. While swordfish have headed north into the colder waters of Newfoundland, their population has remained stable in Nova Scotia, Isnor said. Instead, lower yields among the harpoon fleet boats are due to a change in basking behavior. 

“[Swordfish] hunt deeper in the water column, and then they bask near the surface to regulate their body temperatures. And with a handheld harpoon, of course, it requires that a fish is actually at the surface where you can see it in order to be able to catch it,” she said. “With changing ocean conditions and sea surface temperatures, it's essentially meant that swordfish are basking at the surface in places and times that are less predictable than they once were for this particular fleet. So it's just making it a lot more challenging for them to find the fish to be able to catch them.”

Having to leave their quota in the water threatens the long-term viability of the fishery and the jobs that it sustains, Isnor said. By adding rod and reel gear, fishers can catch swordfish where they are: lower in the water column.

Maintaining sustainability is a core value

The harpoon fleet in Nova Scotia isn’t the only fishery experiencing such changes. The Nature Conservancy promoted the use of deep-drop fishing gear off the coast of California to keep a sustainable catch going amidst a similar drop in basking swordfish. 

Unlike gill nets and pelagic longlines which can hook unintended species and endanger marine mammals and sea turtles, spearing swordfish with a harpoon requires the fisher to visibly identify each individual target, thus ensuring that other species are not harmed. Together with the harpoon fleet, the Ecology Action Center started trialing the rod and reel method in 2022.

While not as precise as harpoon fishing, the trial demonstrated that swordfish could be caught with minimal unintended catches of other species — none of which consisted of sea turtles or marine mammals — when harpooning was not feasible. Meanwhile, participating license holders could charge $20,000 CAD ($14,800 USD) for private charters with rod and reel gear for two passengers. 

“Giving this fleet the option to add a charter component to their business, it really enables them to have an additional stream of income while, again, remaining within their quota,” Isnor said. “So it increases the value of their catches overall. It doesn't increase the effort, it just increases the value and the income.”

Government approval is needed before changes can be made

To make these changes, the fleet needs the approval of government agencies. The Department of Transport Canada would have to approve the charter element, and rod and reel permissions are dependent on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Additionally, boats need to be assessed and approved individually, with some financial costs likely required to meet the requirements and ensure proper accommodations, Isnor said.

“We've worked quite closely with some government staff on the rod and reel gear trials, and they've been great to work with and supportive of the work that we're doing,” she said. “While I don't suspect that it will happen overnight, I am hopeful that we're moving in the right direction towards getting the rod and reel added to their licenses and then finding solutions to enable them to offer charters as well.”