The federal government has temporarily paused parts of the newly reinstated commercial northern cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland as landings approach the seasonal limit.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says that as of Monday evening, fishers from the east coast of the island cannot fish cod until Sept. 15, when the second half of the season is set to begin.
The first half of the season was set to end on Sept. 14, but officials say fishers have almost caught the maximum amount of fish allowed during that period.
Labrador fishers will be confined to the region’s southeast coast until Sept. 15.
The department announced in June it would reopen the fishery, 32 years after it imposed a moratorium on cod fishing that put tens of thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians out of …