The Canadian Press

HALIFAX - A new study suggests that Newfoundland’s once decimated northern cod stock could be making a strong comeback after more than a decade of sharp decline.

Fisheries expert George Rose says his research shows the northern cod stock now numbers in the hundreds of thousand of tons, with plenty of larger, spawning fish.

Rose says the increase in the biomass may be linked to a similar rise in the availability of cod’s key food source, capelin.

More importantly, Rose says the ongoing moratorium on the cod fishery has helped the once-mighty stock rebuild, adding that protection from excessive fishing is critical to its continued recovery.

The research, published today in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, suggests the stock could rebuild in less than a decade if the capelin population grows and fishing pressure remains low.

The northern cod stock was virtually wiped out in the early 1990s by mismanagement and overfishing, with a moratorium being imposed in 1992.