The 2016 Newfoundland recreational cod fishery will open on Saturday July 16 for the summer period and will close on August 7. Fishing is permitted during any day throughout that period. It will reopen again on September 24 and will run until October 2 again with fishing permitted on any day.

The fishery will also be open on all weekends in the summer starting on the Canada Day (July 1^st) weekend to the Labour Day weekend in September ending on September 5th. Fishing is only permitted on Saturday and Sunday.

This is a transitional measure in advance of the implementation of a license and tag system for all fishers which is expected to begin in 2017.

However being open for an additional fourteen days, there are still catch limits in place for those who choose to partake. A maximum of five fish per person per day, and a maximum of 15 fish per boat, no high-grading or otherwise discarding of fish, and no fishing during closed times.

All fish caught must be retained in a readily identifiable state. Fish may be bled, gutted, and split while at sea, but further processing such as filleting, skinning, packing or otherwise at sea is not permitted.

Only angling gear and handlines with a maximum of three hooks are permitted. Handlines include artificial lures, baited hooks and feathered hooks. Artificial lures with treble hooks weighing less than five ounces or 142 grams are acceptable. Traditional jiggers are not permitted unless they are modified and have only one single hook.