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Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence cod could be extinct by mid-century: report

There is a high probability that Atlantic cod will be locally extinct in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence by mid-century — even with no commercial fishing, according to a new report. The paper, published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, says the death rate now stands at 50 per cent for adult Gulf cod five years and older.  The likely culprit? Grey seals. “That high a natural mortality is not sustainable,” says Doug Swain, a federal Fisheries Department scientist who co-authored the study. >click to read<10:12