Haddock quotas on Georges Bank (5Z) have been cut by 36 per cent and by 57 per cent in 4X5Y for the 2026/27 season.
In 4X5Y, the total allowable catch (TAC) for haddock has been set at 3,069 metric tonnes (mt), down from a 7,128 mt TAC for the 2025–26 season.
The Eastern Georges Bank haddock TAC has been set at 3,752 mt, down from a 5,854 mt TAC for the 2025–26 season.
Science Advisory Reports on 4X5Y haddock and eastern Georges Bank haddock published in 2025 suggest both stocks are in the healthy zone, based on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) survey index, said Christine Lyons with DFO communications.
The only groundfish TAC to be increased in the 4VWX5 zone for 2026/27 is the 4X5 pollock quota, set at 3,699 mt up from 3,308 mt. The 4VW pollock quota remains the same at 660 mt.
The Atlantic halibut TAC for 3NOPs4VWX5Zc was cut by 85 mt, from 5,149 mt to 5,064 mt.
Atlantic cod in 4VsW and 4Vn (M-O) remains under moratorium with bycatch only. In 4X5Y, 660 mt has been set as the TAC bycatch, the same as last year, while the Eastern Georges Bank Atlantic cod TAC bycatch has been reduced from 370 mt to 322 mt.
“A Science Advisory Report on 4X5Y Atlantic cod was published in 2026. According to the last assessment, the 4X cod stock remains in the critical zone with no recovery projected,” said Lyons.
“A Science Advisory Report on Georges Bank Atlantic cod was published in 2025. The latest assessment suggests that the stock is in the critical zone, based on the spawning stock biomass,” Lyons added.
According to DFO statistics in 2024, 11,062,254 kg of groundfish was landed in 4X with a landed value of $36,413,341. For Georges Bank, 6,702,099 kg of groundfish was landed with a landed value of $13,354,222.
