Inshore exploitation of Newfoundland Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) since 1948 as estimated from mark-recapture data

We use tagging studies to estimate fishing mortality (F) of inshore populations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) around Newfoundland. New methods have been developed for this analysis that allow fishing mortalities and reporting rates to be estimated for different sectors of a fishery, e.g., inshore fixed gear and offshore trawlers. We find that the fishing mortalities on inshore components of the cod stocks have been high since 1948, when the estimated fishing mortality was greater than 0.5. Since then the fishing mortality has increased, and in recent years has been much greater than the population can sustain. There is a critical need to define inshore stocks and to institute conservation measures specific to inshore populations.