Porto, June 27, 2024 (Lusa) - The end of the ban on commercial cod fishing in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, imposed more than 30 years ago, is "good news" for Portugal, which has a quota there, according to industry association ADAPI.
"It's good news for us because, in principle, it will reopen our share," said Luís Vicente, secretary-general of the Association of Industrial Fishing Shipowners (ADAPI), in statements to the Lusa news agency.
He said that what has been established is that when fishing reopens in that area - after the ban decided to allow local cod reserves to recover - Canada would have to grant a quota of about 5% to countries with a history of fishing in that region, and "Portugal is the one that has the largest share".
"The question now is whether we go there [to fish], whether we exchange [quota] with the Canadians, or how it's done. But of course, we'll take advantage, either directly or indirectly," said Luís Vicente.
He explained that, as a rule, the dozen or so Portuguese vessels authorised to fish in the region do so "outside the 200 miles" that correspond to that country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
However, there is a fishing area that has now been reopened "in which the area encompasses both the 200-mile zone and the zone outside 200 miles, and where Europe and Portugal have around 5% of the quota".
"That zone has been closed for a long time but was a cheating closure. In practice, they fished it anyway, with the excuse that it was to maintain scientific data, but since the zone was, in theory, closed, we Portuguese didn't have our share," he said.
The Canadian government announced on Wednesday that it would re-establish commercial cod fishing in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, ending a ban imposed more than 30 years ago, following a slight recovery in the species.
The fishing ban had been in place since 2 July 1992, in an attempt to help recover collapsed stocks of the species on the province's north and east coasts.
According to the Canadian Department of Fisheries, a total catch of 18,000 tonnes will be allowed for the 2024 season.
"The end of the cod moratorium in the north is a historic milestone," said federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier in a press release.
"We will rebuild this fishery cautiously but optimistically, with the main beneficiaries being coastal and indigenous communities across Newfoundland and Labrador," she added.
Canada announced the ban in July 1992 in an attempt to help recover collapsed stocks of the species on the province's north and east coasts.
The so-called cod moratorium was supposed to last two years but was successively extended as the species showed no signs of recovery and remained in the "critical zone".
The total catch of 18,000 tonnes for the 2024 season is only a fraction of what it was - 120,000 tonnes, according to a government portal - in February 1992, a few months before the moratorium.
"Our province has long waited for the cod moratorium to end," said Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey.
"A sustainable fishery that provides maximum benefits for all (...) is the most important thing," Furey added on social media.
Until 1992, cod fishing was the main economic engine of the province on Canada's Atlantic coast, and the moratorium left tens of thousands of people out of work.
With the closure of the fish factories and the decline in jobs, young people from the rural areas of the island of Newfoundland began to leave for the provincial capital, St John's, or for mainland Canada in search of work.
According to the Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador portal, the province's population decreased by 10% between 1991 and 2001, largely due to the harbour communities moving away.
PD/ADB // ADB.
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