In June of 2025, Canadian Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson more than doubled the total allowable catch (TAC) for northern cod from 18,000 tons in 2024 to 38,000 tons for the 2025-26 season.

While Thompson also increased the share of the TAC to the offshore fleet from 6 percent to 9.72 percent, those big boat fiishermen believe they may be missing an opportunity to reclaim market share in Europe, especially considering the potential impact of U.S. tariffs. 

“Alberto Wareham, whose family owns Icewater Seafood in Arnolds Cove, Newfoundland, has built very strong relationships with buyers in Europe, the UK and France in particular—companies like Marks and Spencer,” says Sylvie Lapointe, president of the Atlantic Groundfish Council (AGC), which 20 offshore fishing companies, including three that target northern cod in NAFO management zone 2J3KL. “As the cod stocks rebound, and we hope they continue to, we have a chance to grow that market.”

Lapointe notes that this past year, for the first time since the cod moratorium began in 1992, Icewater supplied all its markets with Canadian cod. “Before this year, they had to buy Faroese, Norwegian, and Russian cod. This is a milestone for us; everyone is pleased.”

In a video on the Icewater Facebook page, workers on the fillet line who have been there for the moratorium are joyful. “If Canadian cod continue to recover, we’ll invest more in our plant and hire more people to work it,” says Wareham. 

But the market demands a year-round supply. Lapointe explains that the inshore fleet, which receives 80 percent of the TAC, fishes from July to November. “Then the fish move offshore and our boats fish them from February to May,” she says. “As you may know, cod stocks in Iceland and the Barents Sea are declining, and this is our chance to grow our market share.” She points out that the big boats need more fish to support the winter fishery and take advantage of the chance to fill the demand in Europe.

Only two or three boats fish for cod in the winter; the F/V Calvert is the largest, owned by AGC member Ocean Choice. “It is the newest boat in the fishery,” says Lapointe. “It’s 74 meters [242 feet] and can land 3,800 tons of fish. The other boats are smaller.”

Lapointe and the companies she represents are asking the minister for more fish to keep these boats and Icewater in the games. “We believe that the minister is being overly prudent,” says Lapointe. “We think the science supports a TAC of 48,000 tons, and of course, we would like to increase our allocation. Historically, we fished 40 percent of the TAC, and we would like to get back to that.”