WWF’s Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) focuses on ensuring the long-term sustainable management of Atlantic cod (Division 3Ps), including compliance with the standards of the Marine Stewardship Council. To increase and secure the long-term sustainability of Atlantic cod in the Newfoundland and Labrador region through a FIP, WWF-Canada has partnered with Icewater Seafoods Inc. Icewater, a groundfish company based in Newfoundland and North America’s largest processor of Atlantic cod, supplies premium Atlantic cod from the Newfoundland region to companies primarily in Europe, including retailers who have pledged to source only certified sustainable seafood.
Oceans
Rebuilding Cod and The Grand Banks
Grand Banks cod, a former icon of abundance and profitability, has become Canada's 'poster child' of fisheries mismanagement, social upheaval, and long-term economic losses. To rebuild Grand Banks cod, WWF-Canada is working with local communities, fishers, managers, and industry. We focus on industry leaders and use retailers' considerable buying power to transform the fishing practices of individual fishers and strengthen management of fisheries.
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Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) aquaculture, Newfoundland, Canada
A Billion Dollar Opportunity
Centuries ago, the waters off Atlantic Canada were described as 'alive' with cod. For 500 years an estimated 100 million tonnes of cod were harvested, making Canada's adundant cod stocks famous around the world. Cod sustained a major fishery and was the mainstay of the economy in Atlantic Canada until its complete collapse from overfishing in the early 1990s. Today, cod on the Grand Banks continues to be caught as bycatch in other fisheries.
A healthy and sustainable cod fishing industry would not only support a healthier ecosystem, but also contribute over $1 billion into the Atlantic Canada economy each year. Our progress in this region will also help save other species at risk and provide a healthier natural world for us all.
Read the Banking on Cod report.
A healthy and sustainable cod fishing industry would not only support a healthier ecosystem, but also contribute over $1 billion into the Atlantic Canada economy each year. Our progress in this region will also help save other species at risk and provide a healthier natural world for us all.
Read the Banking on Cod report.
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Atlantic Cod
Today's Science & Success
Today, conservation experts are witnessing a fragile recovery of cod stocks in the Grand Banks and other Atlantic fishing areas. With ocean temperatures and conditions ideal for a comeback, several young cod populations have been identified. If fishing practices are reformed we can put conservation measures in place to help cod reproduce and we can double the amount of spawning cod.
Unfortunately, every time one of these cod populations begins to take hold, they are caught in nets meant for other fish. This is what is known in the industry as ‘bycatch’. WWF-Canada is shifting the ground on this issue and has made incredible progress fighting bycatch in the last decade.
Unfortunately, every time one of these cod populations begins to take hold, they are caught in nets meant for other fish. This is what is known in the industry as ‘bycatch’. WWF-Canada is shifting the ground on this issue and has made incredible progress fighting bycatch in the last decade.
- Overwhelming support of our groundbreaking Stop the Net public awareness campaign enabled WWF-Canada to successfully lobby the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and secure their commitment to reduce bycatch of cod on the southern Grand Banks by 40%.
- Our supporters have helped WWF-Canada establish marine protected areas in the region, influence decisions to close fishing in Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, and help protect coral and seamounts, ensuring fish and marine mammals can flourish without the threat of fishing nets.
- Just a few years ago, sustainably-caught seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (which WWF helped found) was unheard of. Today, over 2,800 seafood products in the global marketplace are MSC certified and, in the past year, the first Canadian fisheries have achieved MSC certification.
The Future of Fisheries
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Cod Fisheries Improvement Project (Helping to Build Strong Future for Cod)
The Way Forward
WWF-Canada is working on these next steps for success:
- The immediate protection of critical habitats. Instead of fishing away any new populations of cod before they can take hold, WWF-Canada will identify areas that are essential to marine life on the Grand Banks. They include cold-water corals, specific spawning and juvenile grounds and areas of high productivity.
- Strengthen existing regulations. WWF will pressure NAFO (the regulating body that governs all of the nations that fish on the Grand Banks, including Canada) to close loopholes that promote flagrant disregard for conservation measures.
- Address over-capacity. There are too many boats chasing too few fish – which is the root cause of over-fishing and bycatch.
- Help develop smarter fishing gear that is more selective and will reduce the numbers of marine life killed needlessly.
- Develop science-based solutions. Invest in better scientific research, monitoring and reporting in order to plan the use of our marine resources with accurate information.
- Promote innovative conservation financing. Help develop and promote novel finance solutions to overcome initial investment costs required to implement conservation measures and restructure fisheries.
- Help make MSC-certified seafood available to Canadians.