After petitioning to the federal government and DFO over the holidays asking for fair consultation on regulation change, they heard you, loud and clear!
The 2022-2023 prawn season will remain the same. The 50-year practice of tubbing frozen-at-sea prawn tails will continue, and the government said it will give harvesters time to prepare for new standards of packaging for the 2023 season. The proposed tub size requirement for 2023 is the 1 lb tub used by most in the industry.
In the meantime, the government said it will consult with the prawn industry on enhanced sustainability measures — a traceability and a third-party monitoring program — in the year to come.
Let’s celebrate this victory, and the confidence it brings to prawn harvesters knowing, with clarity, what their season will look like.

In the media:
Jan 18, 2022
- CBC: B.C. fishers celebrate DFO announcement allowing spot prawn ‘tubbing’ to continue
- National Observer: Federal decision buoys West Coast spot prawn harvesters
Dec 16, 2021
- Vancouver is Awesome: You’re about to lose access to spot prawns
- National Observer: Ottawa puts B.C.’s prized spot prawn fishery in peril again, harvesters say
- Toronto Star: Proposed DFO rules put B.C.’s prized spot prawn fishery in peril again, harvesters say
Press Release, Dec 16, 2021
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