Canada’s fisheries are essential sources of food provision and economic benefits, but many are overexploited or threatened with overexploitation. In Canada, fisheries management decisions for resource utilization and allocation rely primarily on biological data and underrepresent the social implications of decisions that may impact coastal and Indigenous communities. These decisions can have an immense impact on community economies, as seen after the implementation of the Atlantic Cod moratorium. Social considerations could mitigate the harmful effects of quota reductions and spur economies in the case of quota expansions. With the reopening of some commercial fisheries after decades of closures (e.g., redfish in Atlantic Canada), the Department of Fisheries Oceans Canada (DFO) must determine how to meaningfully incorporate social impacts and equity-based allocation into their integrated fisheries management plans (IFMP) to create a more holistic approach to sustainable management and allocation. They can do this through two parallel processes: (1) Selecting and incorporating social indicators and equity in IFMPs and (2) Removing barriers that prevent social equity for Indigenous communities’ self-determination. By pursuing these avenues for re-emerging fisheries, DFO can build a model for sustainable fisheries management, incorporating the environmental, economic, and social pillars and ensuring the long-term success of fish harvesting.