Canadian cod plants see market demand increase after decades of a commercial ban

Canadian cod plants in northern Newfoundland reported improving market demand as quotas and restrictions ease after decades of a commercial ban. In Arnold’s Cove, Icewater Seafoods staff had been processing imported cod, but plant owner Alberto Wareham says northern cod is arriving in time to reopen global supply, within a three-to-five-year window. He cited declining catch volumes in Iceland and the Barents Sea, where a co-managed quota reduction of 16% took effect for that fishery between Norway and Russia. Meanwhile, total allowable catch in Newfoundland and Labrador is rising sharply, with northern cod quotas reaching 59,000 tonnes in 2026 after being capped at 13,000 tonnes in 2022. Wareham expects the product squeeze to last three to five years, but says plants and harvesters will need more cod-specific fishing effort and vessels to meet growing opportunity.