2022 Northern Cod Management Plan Released

This afternoon, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) released the management plan for the 2022 2J3KL Northern cod fishery. FFAW had requested 15,000 tonnes, a modest increase from 2021’s allowable harvest level, and DFO has set the TAC for the northern cod stewardship fishery at 12,999 tonnes for 2022.

While the rollover of 2021’s TAC is not a surprise, harvesters require and deserve an earlier announcement on these decisions. Many had hoped for an earlier start date to the fishery which was not possible when the TAC announcement was delayed.

Some positive highlights include higher weekly limits, particularly earlier in the season, flexibility with bi-weekly quotas starting in August, and increased gear limits earlier than past seasons. Grade A Cod is $1.05 for 2022 in comparison to $0.80 in 2021, and this is very welcome news for fish harvesters and plant workers.

Given that the stock continues to grow with the lowest harvest rates in history, FFAW-Unifor maintains that modestly higher removals would have virtually no impact on spawning stock biomass growth, according to scientific calculations.

DFO must prioritize science for this stock including ensuring the entire Research Vessel survey is completed, ensure harvesters have more involvement in science and management decisions, and important analysis on the model must be updated. Industry representatives have also been requesting a longer time series of data to be included in the assessment model to better inform decisions as we go forward. Modest increases in the harvest rates can simultaneously build capacity on land without having any significant impact on the growth of the stock.

This year’s plan from DFO is as follows:

Season Dates

In NAFO divisions 3KL, the fishery is scheduled to open on Sunday, July 24 and is scheduled to close on Saturday November 5, 2022.

In NAFO division 2J, the fishery is scheduled to open on Sunday, July 24 and is scheduled to close on Saturday October 15, 2022.

Catch Limits (all weights are round weight)

NAFO Divisions 3KL:

July 24 – August 13: 3,850 lbs base/week

August 14 – September 10: 7,700 lbs base bi-weekly

September 11 – November 5: 8,500 lbs base bi-weekly

NAFO Division 2J:

July 24 – September 3: 30,000 lbs base bi-weekly

September 4 – October 15: 40,000 lbs base bi-weekly

For fish harvesters that have acquired additional cod shares through enterprise combining adjusted catch limits will be identified in their licence conditions.

DFO’s full announcement can be found HERE for reference.