Cod struggling off Newfoundland's south coast: report

Cod stocks off the south coast of Newfoundland continue to show signs of strain, newly released data suggest.

A stock assessment of the fishing zone known as 3Ps shows that small numbers of younger cod are maturing, but barely enough to support a commercial fishery.

"Our concern is [as] these weaker year classes feed into the fishery, you're going to have less fish available to be caught, to support the fishery," said John Brattey, a scientist with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The 3Ps fishery has traditionally been much more robust than the northern cod stock, found largely off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and off Labrador.

A moratorium on northern cod was imposed in 1992, while commercial activity in 3Ps though diminished has largely been allowed to continue.

Brattey said the large number of fish that were spawned in 1997 and 1998 have kept the fishery going off the south coast for several years.

However, he said that while the inshore fishery has been doing well, catch rates offshore are down and there are no indications that the decline will stop.