What a difference a few years can make. About 12 months ago, the commercial cod fishery officially returned to Newfoundland and Labrador after a 32-year moratorium.
In 2024, following a reassessment by scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) that moved the stock status of cod in 2J3KL, which stretches from southeastern Newfoundland to Labrador, from critical status to cautious, DFO announced the reopening of the commercial cod fishery with a total allowable catch (TAC) of 18,000 tonnes. Previously, the province’s cod was solely caught by a stewardship fishery operated by the province’s inshore sector, which had a TAC of 12,999 tonnes.
Now DFO has upped the ante once again.
On June 18, rookie federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson announced what she called a responsible TAC increase from 18,000 tonnes to 38,000 tonnes.
A DFO press release stated that recent scientific data and assessments confirm Northern cod has remained stable since 2017 and is at a higher level than previously understood from the 2024 assessment.
In conjunction with the cod quota increase, the minister also announced that the all-important capelin quota would remain at the 2024 level of 14,533 tonnes.
DFO also announced that in order “to inform future management decisions for the recreational cod fishery — known to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as the food fishery — the government will launch public consultations. The goal is to gather input on this fishery and discuss the distinct differences in the health of the province’s three cod populations. While the stocks on the south and west coasts remain in the critical zone, the Northern cod stock status has improved. Recognizing the importance of cod to coastal communities, the management measures for the recreational groundfish fishery will remain unchanged for 2025. The government is launching a new voluntary pilot program for tour boat operations certified by Transport Canada, giving them the flexibility to retain fish seven days a week while eliminating the catch-and-release aspect. With the new tagging system, passengers can now keep two groundfish per day.”
Predictably, the industry response to the somewhat surprising quota increase was positive.
The FFAW-Unifor welcomed the increase in the TAC, including a 30,400-tonne inshore allocation and a reinstatement of the historical two per cent allocation to the mid-shore fleet.
“We’re pleased Minister Thompson accepted the union’s recommendations in a number of key areas, including rebalancing allocations between the 2J, 3K and 3L, reinstating the allocation to the <65’ mobile gear fleet. These improvements by the Minister show a keen willingness to work with our members and ensure that fishing decisions are reflective of the needs of our coastal economies,” FFAW-Unifor President Dwan Street said.
“We’re certainly thrilled to see a substantial increase going to the inshore Northern cod fishery this year, which is reflective of the robust inshore catch rates.”
Despite the positive reaction, the union confirmed it is still proceeding with a federal judicial review process to uphold the inshore 115,000-tonne commitment, with a hearing scheduled this December.
The Atlantic Groundfish Council (AGC), which represents cod processors, also said it was pleased to see a substantial increase in the TAC but noted that it could have been higher.
“The 2025 science update showed that a considerably higher TAC than the one selected by the Minister can be supported by the stock. Based on scientific evidence and sustainable harvesting rates of global cod stocks, the AGC had recommended a TAC of 49,000 tonnes, which still would have meant a harvest level that is much more conservative than DFO’s own precautionary approach calls for,” the AGC stated in a release.
“The landed value and economic realities of cod require a balanced fishery, one where smaller boats harvest in the summer and fall, with offshore vessels harvesting during the winter months. This model allows 100 per cent Canadian cod to be sold into premium markets that demand a year-round supply. Stronger market positioning and share means higher prices for inshore harvesters, and the increased offshore allocation would increase the number of year-round jobs on Ocean Choice’s vessels and in Icewater Seafoods’ plant in Arnold’s Cove. For these reasons, AGC is confident a larger increase to the offshore sector would have better optimized the value and fairness of the fishery for this year.”
Alberto Wareham, President and CEO of Icewater Seafoods, said “the global cod supply is shrinking and customers in premium, year-round markets are looking for Canadian cod to fill those supply gaps. For years we have grappled with keeping Canadian cod in global markets. This year presents a rare opportunity to notably increase our market share, returning further benefits to the people and communities that fuel this fishery. That includes local offshore and inshore harvesters, plant workers here in Arnold’s Cove and the broader service and supply sector that supports fishery operations.”
However, not everyone was pleased with the 2J3KL TAC increase.
Marine conservation organization Oceans North announced it was disappointed by DFO’s decision.
“We understand the pressure to deliver economic benefits to coastal communities,” said Gemma Rayner, Fisheries and Special Projects Advisor at Oceans North, “but sustainability must take precedence over short-term economic gain. Rebuilding this stock requires caution, patience and respect for the ecological realities on the water.”
In a release, Oceans North said Northern cod has remained in a fragile state following its collapse in the early 1990s. Since 2018, surplus production — a measure of the stock’s ability to grow — has remained near or below zero, indicating that the population is not generating sufficient biomass to rebuild.
“Although DFO has justified the increase by pointing to improvement in the stock status, the apparent improvement is not due to population growth but rather to the fact that DFO changed the stock’s Limit Reference Point (LRP) — the point below which a stock is said to be in the critical zone and where fishing should be kept to the lowest level possible. While this change was based on additional data, it has also created a misleading sense that the stock is increasing. In fact, the stock has shown no growth since 2017, and as recently as 2023, it was assessed to be in the critical zone, meaning it required a formal rebuilding plan. The decision to increase fishing pressure despite these facts contradicts the precautionary approach, which is supposed to underpin DFO’s fisheries management decisions. Stock projections presented during the 2025 assessment show a 56 to 71 per cent probability that the stock will decline by 2028 even if fishing levels remain the same, and this risk grows with increased removals.”
Additionally, Oceans North stated that the ecosystem conditions that influence Northern cod productivity continue to be unfavourable: capelin, a primary prey species, is expected to decline in 2025, and natural mortality remains high.
“DFO also announced that the quota for capelin would be maintained at 14,533 metric tonnes — 15 per cent higher than Oceans North had advised, given capelin’s importance to cod and the ecosystem as a whole. These environmental constraints limit the stock’s ability to recover even in the absence of additional fishing pressure.”
Commercial 2J3KL allocations for 2025–26 are as follows:
- 80 per cent is allocated to inshore harvesters including a new allocation for the inshore mobile gear fleet.
- 10 per cent is allocated to Indigenous groups and special allocation.
- 9.72 per cent is allocated to Canadian offshore fleets.
- 0.28 per cent is allocated to mid shore fixed gear and mobile gear fleets.
Under NAFO Conservation and Enforcement measures introduced by Canada, 2,000 tonnes, an amount equal to approximately five per cent of the overall TAC, is set aside for other NAFO Contracting Parties fishing outside Canada’s exclusive economic zone, fulfilling Canada’s international commitments.
