Off the coasts of northern Newfoundland and southern Labrador, the council recommends the total allowable catch for northern cod be reduced to 7,000 tonnes from 9,000 tonnes. Today, it is only a dismal remnant of what we had. In the mid-1980s, the northern cod fishery was hauling in 200,000 tonnes annually. Atlantic Canada used to land about 500,000 tonnes of cod annually in the 1980s. The total cod catch now is about 10 per cent of what it used to be.
Federal scientists say the stocks remain fragile, especially farther offshore.
Until the offshore stocks start to grow, the inshore stocks will remain small, scientists concluded in an earlier report. On the Georges Bank, the total allowable catch for cod caught by U.S. and Canadian fishermen should be cut to 2,000 tonnes from 3,000 tonnes, the council said. Recruitment refers to the number of fish that survive long enough to be considered big enough for commercial harvest. However, there was some good news for other groundfish stocks on George Bank, an area southwest of Nova Scotia that is frequented by U.S. fishermen. Catch limits for haddock and yellowtail flounder will be increased this season.