The FFAW is applauding a new model for assessing Northern Cod announced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Wednesday.

The new model assesses long-term productivity of the 2J3KL stock from 1954 to present, using tagging and landings data from the full time series. The FFAW says the new model shows Northern Cod is no longer in the critical zone.

“FFAW-Unifor has been advocating for changes to the stock assessment model and the limit reference point for several years, and this announcement today is certainly a very positive step for improving the robustness of fisheries science in our province,” FFAW President Greg Pretty said in a statement. “We’re also pleased to see DFO’s surveys went ahead as planned this year and look forward to seeing the results of the full assessment this coming spring.”

Inshore fish harvesters and Indigenous groups in Newfoundland and Labrador have been guaranteed the first 115,000 tons of northern cod and were negatively impacted this year by a limited stewardship fishery. The FFAW says the potential impacts on next year’s Maximum Allowable Harvest (MAH) could provide important and urgently needed economic opportunity for inshore fish harvesters and plant workers. 

“Ensuring we have adequate processing capacity to handle all commercial species landed by Newfoundland and Labrador fish harvesters needs to be a priority for our provincial government,” Pretty said. “Today’s news is another sign that important work needs to be done before next year’s fishery,” concludes Pretty. 

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