The federal Fisheries Department set the catch limit last week for northern cod at a maximum 12,350 tonnes, the same amount as 2019 when the quota was increased by 30 per cent.

The commercial cod fishery, essential to Newfoundland and Labrador's fishing industry, collapsed and was placed under a moratorium in 1992, throwing thousands out of work and sparking protests.

A federal report released Tuesday said northern cod's spawning stock biomass -- fish that can reproduce -- was higher than predicted last year, representing a four-per-cent bump from 2018.