No commercial cod in northern Gulf of St. Lawrence this year: DFO

Recreational, ceremonial and science-based sentinel fisheries will proceed

There will be no commercial fishing of cod in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence this year to help keep the stocks in that area from descending further into the critical zone, the federal government announced Monday, July 4.

Fishermen who depend on that fishery are not happy with the decision.

The northern Gulf of St. Lawrence includes fishing zones 4RS and 3Pn off the west coast and southwest tip of the island part of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The recreational food fishery and the sentinel sciencebased fishery will proceed, however.

In 2021, the total allowable catch (TAC) for the northern gulf cod was 1,000 tonnes.

The closure means about $600,000 in landed value lost. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans there are six licence holders (out of 281 in Newfoundland and 69 in Quebec) who fish only northern gulf cod.

“This is a tough decision. I recognize this commercial closure will pose economic challenges for many harvesters and comes at a hard time for people in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec,” said Joyce Murray, minister of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

“This decision will give the northern gulf cod stock a year to build, while also allowing Indigenous and recreational harvesters to participate in this culturally important fishery.”

Murray says the one-year management plan will allow young fish in the stock to reach maturity, providing an opportunity for the northern gulf cod stock to rebuild. The decision will be re-evaluated before the 2023 season, taking into consideration economic factors, stakeholder perspectives and the best available science.

The Fish, Food and Allied Workers union (Ffawunifor), however, says it is deeply disappointed with the decision. The union says the small cod fishery is economically and culturally significant to the region, and science has shown that natural mortality is the key unaddressed factor in the stock’s ability to grow.

“Fish harvesters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence would have gladly accepted a rollover or even a minimal reduction to the already very modest quota,” Ffaw-unifor president Keith Sullivan said.

“Minister Murray’s decision further hurts this struggling region while continuing to let the real problem — seal overpopulation — spiral more and more out of control.”

Green Island Cove fish harvester Loomis Way said many fishermen in the northern gulf region have chosen not to pursue cod directly in recent years, but for those who do, it is an integral part of their enterprises and communities.

“We’re all here because of cod,” he said.

Murray said the cod stocks have not recovered since the 1990s and are still deep in the critical zone. She said it is her responsibility as minister to give the stock every chance to rebuild.

“This is a one-year decision and then I will be reviewing what the science has to say,” she said. “Our government will continue working with partners and stakeholders to help regenerate this fish stock.”