Ottawa injects federal funds to boost sagging cod fishery

OTTAWA - With the cod fishery on the East Coast still in a precarious state, the federal government is investing nearly $6.5-million to help spawn a commercial revival of stocks through cod farming.

The money is being funnelled into research aimed at growing a hardier variety of cod that can withstand the pressures of being raised in captivity, fatten quickly and feed a lucrative new aquaculture industry.

"With the collapse of the cod fishery, the supply is no longer there," said Nell Halse, a spokeswoman with Cooke Aquaculture, a St. George, N.B., salmon-farming company involved in the project.

"What happens with farming is you get a consistent year-round supply, which is something you can't get, of course, when you are dealing with a wild fishery -- you are dealing with cycles there," she said.

Source: The Globe and Mail