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Newfoundland’s northern cod

By Jason Huffman | Published March 28, 2023

It was in 1497 that Italian explorer John Cabot, sailing under commission of England's Henry VII, stumbled upon the rocky island that he would call “new found land”, which would -- some 452 years later -- become part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). He was searching for a shorter route to Asia but found instead something else of incredible value, a seemingly endless supply of the white fish Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).

NL was once the world’s largest source of Atlantic cod, producing as much as 810,000 metric tons in 1968 and supporting some 30,000 Canadian fishermen. But the stock crashed due to overfishing and a moratorium was ordered in 1992.

The population has rebounded somewhat but today NL supports a much smaller cod fishery. It includes a 136,702 square mile area off the Northeastern Coast of NL in the zones collectively known as 2J3KL, where Atlantic cod are reported to be of a higher quality and carry the unique moniker of "northern cod".

The total allowable catch (TAC) for Atlantic cod in 2J3KL has been slowly growing. In 2021 it was 12,999 metric tons, a 5% increase over the 2020 TAC of 12,350t, consistent with the 2019 TAC, which was a 30% increase over the 2018 limit of 9,500t.

Undercurrent News visited NL in August 2022. We took lots of pictures of cod being landed on a dock in the city of St. John’s and of the colorful personalities who still make a living from the sea.

We also stopped by the Icewater Seafoods processing plant in Arnold's Cove, NL, which is reported to be the last remaining cod-only processing plant in Canada. The 43-year-old, 70,000-square-foot plant, which maintains a 10,000t annual capacity, is owned and managed by the Wareham family. They can trace their roots as NL cod buyers back eight generations to 1823 when a bartering system involved trading the fish for other goods and supplies.