Food fishery participation down 20 per cent in 2017

The number of people who participatedin the recreational cod fishery this summer dropped about 20 per cent from the year before,according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Low catch rates early in the season, lingering sea ice, reports of poor quality fish, rainy and windy weather conditions and reports of blackberry parasites in cod were all believed to have ledto the drop.

DFO's Kerry Bungay said those conclusions are based on what fisheries officers saw during the 46 days allotted for recreational fishing in 2017.

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The number of violations found during patrols also went down over last year 44 compared to 78 in 2016.

Officers inspected 2,497 people in 1,030 boats and checked 7,036 codfish.

A total of 23 charges were laid, along with 19 written warnings and two verbal reminders.

The majority ofviolations were people exceeding the daily bag limit, while a few were for throwing awayfish for bigger ones, according to Bungay.