A Tale of Two Fisheries – and a Solution for Northern Cod

Barry Darby and Helen Forsey

July 2024

In the midst of the current crucial debate over DFO’s misguided declaration of an “end of the cod moratorium,” the humble lobster can throw some fresh light on what really needs to be done.

Lobster has been one of the bright spots in the Newfoundland fishery so far this year. While the price has not been particularly high, increased landings have more than compensated. With the same rules and the same number of pots, as specified by their licenses, harvesters have been getting more lobster.

Among the various fisheries managed by DFO, the lobster fishery is unique. It is not controlled by a TAC or quota; there is no limit on the catch. Instead, harvesters are entitled to catch as much as they are able under rules that specify who can fish, how many traps they can use, what size and sex they can keep, and the designated season. Those rules are known months in advance, enabling harvesters and their buyers to anticipate and plan their activities. The result, for almost a century now, has been a successful and sustainable fishery, since no undersized lobster are killed or captured and most large females are released.

Contrast this with the recent DFO decision to reopen the commercial cod fishery in 2J3KL, using quotas to control the catch. That’s the management system that was in place after the 1970s establishment of the 200-mile limit, up until the moratorium in 1992. So the plan now is to go right back to that? Hmmm.

If that had been the way this year’s lobster fishery had been managed – by quotas – harvesters and processors would have had less product and earned less income. The limit on the catch would have meant that the season would have ended earlier, and abruptly, as soon as the quota was reached. Moreover, leaving large numbers of harvestable animals in the water would have actually damaged the existing stock, since the limited food supply would have inhibited the growth and expansion of existing undersized lobster.

Our cod fishery was managed without TACs or quotas for 450 years. While the limits were imposed not by government edict but by geography, custom and nature, this quota-less approach was successful and sustainable. But starting around 1950 we began adding power and technology, and then tried to control the amounts caught rather than the fishing effort used. It was only then that we humans in a few short decades destroyed the greatest cod stock in the world!

For 2025, we have the opportunity to recreate a successful scenario for this fishery. Here is what it might look like.

Who can fish:

·        Only trained, certified and registered harvesters would be able to fish commercially, whether as skipper or crew. That number in Newfoundland and Labrador now is only in the 7000 – 9000 range, which is only 20-30% of historical averages.

·        Effective in 2025, new entrants would have to successfully complete an introductory training program before stepping into a boat and having the right to fish. (The two-semester pre-employment courses in the national Red Seal program for the skilled trades would be an excellent model.)

·        Local fishers would have exclusive access to inshore waters near their home port; while offshore (beyond 50 km?) all fishers could fish.

How can they fish?

Most fishing gear types would have specific areas and zones. Handlining, with or without powered haulers, would be allowed year round in most areas. Other gear types would have more specific limits.

Some examples:

·        Gillnet – 200 m of gillnet per harvester from July 1 to Aug 15 in waters less than 60 m.

·        Longlining – 1000 hooks per harvester inshore from Aug 1 to Feb 28; 1500 hooks per harvester beyond 50 km.

·        Cod trap – one traditional Newfoundland cod trap per four harvesters during June, July and August, with specified limits on circumference and depth.

·        Cod pots – the number per harvester, size, seasons and zones to be determined.

·        No otter trawls would be permitted, at least initially, because of their damaging and destructive nature. If they were eventually permitted, there would be strict specifications as to the size of the trawl, what areas could be trawled, the length of the season and the number of harvesters per trawl.

These kinds of restrictions on fishing – controlling the inputs, the fishing effort – are the way we can mimic the natural limits that existed for centuries. Input-based management would ensure that we would never again destroy a species, and the ocean ecosystem would replenish itself annually, enabling our continued use.

A key point with input-based management is that when nature provides more, as with lobster in 2024, we can immediately and automatically take advantage of it without damaging the stock or the ecosystem. Historically, both in Newfoundland and in other jurisdictions, access to a 400 thousand tonne stock (the approximate current size of the 2J3KL stock) would enable a sustainable annual harvest of 15-30%, or 60 to 120 thousand tonnes. But currently, under the quota-based management system, we are massively underfishing this stock.

Leaving such a high proportion of the stock in the water means not only foregone harvests but also unnecessary natural mortality from starvation, as too many fish are competing for limited food supply. This is a major reason for the stagnation of stock growth. As long as DFO continues to manage Northern cod by outputs – TACs and quotas – that will continue, along with the conflicts and disagreements we have witnessed recently.

Regulating the fishing effort – particularly the gear type, size and number used – allows harvesters to ply their trade and allows DFO to optimize the value of the harvest while enabling the stock and the ecosystem to remain healthy and sustainable. Instead of repeating the same old, same old – which brought us the moratorium – let’s take this unique opportunity to start using input-based management for a successful cod fishery in 2J3KL.