Hearn OK's cod harvest increase

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said Monday that ordinary people will again be able to take part in a recreational cod fishery, while commercial harvesters have been given a larger quota to catch.

Hearn said even though cod stocks have shown only marginal improvement in recent years, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is comfortable enough to continue with the recreational fishery, also commonly known as the food fishery.

"We try to balance we hear on the water with the scientific information we have," Hearn told CBC News Monday.

"You'll get some arguing perhaps there should be no increase, you'll get a lot of fishermen arguing there should be a lot more, because they see the stock increasing, and from what we can find out from our scientists, there's an increase in the northern cod stock in that area."

The federal government shut down the northern cod fishery off Newfoundland's northeast coast in 1992. That moratorium put about 20,000 fishermen and plant workers out of work, and triggered what has been described as the one of the largest industrial layoffs in Canadian history.

Hearn said that while he is pleased with "a slight upward trend" in cod survival, he noted that there are still serious concerns with recruitment, or the reproduction of cod, in inshore and offshore areas alike.

"We always have to be conservation-conscious," said Hearn, who credited past participants with being reasonable.

"We've had very few abuses on either side, and that's why we're continuing the fishery this year," Hearn said.

The recreational cod fishery allows any individual to take part, and again this year tags are not required. The fishery will open on July 23 and run until Aug. 12, and then open again for a week, starting Sept. 27.

Each day, an individual may take five cod per day, with a boatload of three or more individuals taking no more than 15 fish.

Holders of individual quotas (IQs) in the northern cod stewardship fishery will be entitled this year to take 3,250 pounds (about 1,475 kilograms), up 30 per cent from last year.

This year's allotment also includes a 10-tonne allocation for food, social and ceremonial purposes for the Labrador Métis Nation and Innu Nation members.