Hearn clears way for summer food fishery

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn gave approval Friday to a recreational cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as a small commercial fishery.

"Fishing for cod is an important part of Newfoundland culture," Hearn said in a statement.

Despite warnings from scientists, Hearn opened a recreational fishery often referred to as a food fishery last year, after a prohibition for several years.

Hearn said he was comfortable with repeating the fishery, in which any individual can catch cod for personal use but within set guidelines, again this year.

"People in our province have shown that they will fish responsibly," said Hearn, adding tags and licences will not be required.

The fishery will allow an individual to catch as many as five fish per day, with a boatload limit of 15 fish when more than three people are on a vessel.

The fishery, which will be open in all inshore areas, will start on July 30 and run until Aug. 19. It will open again in the fall, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.

Scientists, including the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, have expressed concerns for years about the dwindling state of cod stocks, particularly in offshore areas.

As recently as this spring, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans status report on cod off Newfoundland's northeast coast said the stock is in such poor shape it's difficult to even estimate its size.

However, Hearn and other politicians have been pressured by fishermen who say stocks in inshore areas are healthy enough to sustain a commercial fishery.

Hearn said the government will continue what it calls a small "stewardship fishery" this year on the northeast coast. It will open on July 2, and run three weeks.

An additional season will start at some point after Sept. 7, Hearn said, but its terms will be "negotiated on a bay-by-bay basis with industry."