Canada ends cod moratorium in Newfoundland after more than 30 years

The Canadian government has ended the Newfoundland and Labrador cod moratorium, which gutted the Atlantic-coast province’s economy and transformed its small communities more than 30 years ago. The Fisheries Department says it would reestablish a commercial cod fishery in the province, with a total allowable catch of 18,000 tons for the 2024 season. Ottawa announced the devastating cod moratorium on July 2, 1992. Cod stocks off the province’s northern and eastern coasts were collapsing, and the moratorium was introduced as a way to help them recover. Before then, the cod fishery was a primary economic driver in the province, and the moratorium put tens of thousands of people out of work.