Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Comité permanent des pêches et des océans

For immediate release

Ottawa, March 20, 2017 -

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans today tabled a unanimous report calling on the Government of Canada to chart a new sustainable future for Newfoundland and Labrador’s northern cod fishery.

More than two decades after the 1992 commercial fishery moratorium, the decimated northern cod stock is showing signs of a slow rebuilding. The report evaluates the replenishment of the stock and its effects on other fish species in the region. The report also looks at sustainable harvesting technologies for the future of the northern cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Sustainable fisheries are vital to the survival of coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Committee Chair, Scott Simms. “To ensure a sustainable future for the northern cod fishery in the province, the Committee believes that the emphasis must be placed on the precautionary approach and long-term stock rebuilding considerations. Governments, fishing communities, industry and other stakeholders should adopt a collaborative approach to northern cod management and scientific research.”

The report is based on testimony heard in September and October 2016, including public hearings and meetings held in St. John’s, Port de Grave and Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The report’s 10 recommendations include:

• Renaming the recreational groundfish fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador as “public groundfish food and recreational fishery;”

• Completing a full northern cod stock assessment in NAFO divisions 2J3KL on an annual basis;

• Completing a full stock assessment of the capelin resource in NAFO divisions 2J3KL on an annual basis; and

• Creating a rebuilding plan for the northern cod stock.

Chaired by Mr. Scott Simms (Coast of Bays — Central — Notre Dame), the Committee comprises: Liberals Pat Finnigan (Miramichi — Grand Lake), Ken McDonald (Avalon), Bernadette Jordan (South Shore — St. Margarets), Ken Hardie (Fleetwood — Port Kells) and Robert Morrissey (Egmont); Conservatives Robert Sopuck (Dauphin — Swan River —Neepawa), Todd Doherty (Cariboo — Prince George) and Mel Arnold (North Okanagan — Shuswap); and from the New Democratic Party, Fin Donnelly (Port Moody — Coquitlam).