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2025 Newfoundland and Labrador Recreational Groundfish Fishery

In 2025, the recreational groundfish fishery will be open for a total of 45 days. For the 2025 season, there is no requirement for licences or tags for the general public. The Department will hold consultations this fall. Discussions will explore the differences in the health of the province’s cod populations on the south and west coasts, as compared to Northern cod, along with daily limits, dates of the fishery, and other measures. The outcomes of the consultations will inform next year’s decisions.

Species and area

The 2025 recreational groundfish fishery will occur in all NAFO areas/subareas around Newfoundland and Labrador, which include:

Three exceptions are the Eastport, Gilbert Bay and Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Areas (MPA) where recreational groundfish fishing is not permitted.

Season dates:

Summer season:

With wildfires significantly limiting many people’s ability to take part in the Recreational Groundfish Fishery and poor sea conditions forecasted late in the summer season, on August 21, DFO announced that the 2025 recreational groundfish fishery season will be extended to include two additional weekends, as follow:


Fall season: Saturday, September 20, 2025 to Sunday, September 28, 2025

Retention limits

Recreational fishers are limited to 5 groundfish per day (including cod).

The maximum boat limit when three or more people are fishing is 15 groundfish.

Management measures and regulations

The recreational fishery is open to both residents and non-residents.

Retention of Atlantic halibut, Spotted and Northern wolffish, and any species of shark is prohibited. Sculpins and cunners may be released. All other groundfish caught must be retained and are part of the daily bag limit.

High-grading of groundfish is not permitted and no fish are permitted to be wasted.

All fish caught must be retained in a readily identifiable state. Fish may be bled, gutted, and split while at sea, but further processing such as, skinning, cutting into sections, packing or otherwise at sea is not permitted, as such further processing makes determination of species, number and size of the fish problematic.

Only angling gear and handlines with a maximum of three hooks are permitted. Handlines include artificial lures, baited hooks, and feathered hooks. Artificial lures with treble hooks weighing less than five ounces or 142 grams are acceptable. Traditional jiggers are not permitted unless they are modified and have only one single hook.

For safety reasons, fishing is only permitted from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset.

The public is reminded to follow safe boating practices and be aware of local weather and sea conditions before leaving port.

Tour Boat Operators

For 2025, a new voluntary pilot program is available for Transport Canada certified tour boat operators which introduces a tagging system that will allow retention of two fish per passenger per day, seven days a week. This licence includes mandatory harvest reporting requirements. To apply for this licence, please contact DFO.ExperimentalLicensing-Experimental.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Disability designations

Provisions will continue that allow persons with a disability to designate a person to catch their daily limit of groundfish. First time applicants must complete the Disability Form and have their doctor/ophthalmologist complete the required section.

If you wish to apply for a Disability Designation for the recreational groundfish fishery in 2025, please:

  1. Download and print a copy of the form; or fill in electronically
  2. Complete application as outlined in the Instructions on Page 1
  3. Submit the application, or send via email to NL-TN.Licensing@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Applications received via regular mail may result in delays to processing your application.

To fill out a PDF form, you must:

  1. download it to your computer
  2. use PDF software to open it (such as, Adobe Reader or Foxit PDF)

For more information: How to download and open a PDF form

Tag returns & tag rewards

DFO Science has ongoing tagging programs for Atlantic cod, Greenland halibut (Turbot), Witch flounder (Greysole), American plaice, and Yellowtail flounder. The data from these tags support research on fish movement, growth, and natural mortality. If you capture a tagged groundfish (Figure 1), please return the tag to claim your reward. The return address is:

Science Branch, Cod Tag Rewards
Dept of Fisheries and Oceans
PO Box 5667
St. John’s NL
A1C 5X1

To be eligible for a monetary reward, you only need to return the tag. However, any additional information you can provide greatly enhances the value of the data for scientific research and resource management. When mailing in the tag, please include as much of the following information as possible:

Please include a name and address for the reward cheque to be issued. If you have any questions or if you would like to request pre-addressed tag-return envelopes, please contact DFO.NLGroundfish-Poissondefond.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Several tagged fish; visible tags include yellow, pink, and white markers inserted near the dorsal fins, indicating individual identification for research or monitoring purposes
Figure 1. Several tagged fish; visible tags include yellow, pink, and white markers inserted near the dorsal fins, indicating individual identification for research or monitoring purposes
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