Fogo Island Fish 2015–2026
Fogo Island Fish operated from 2015 to 2026, supplying premium handline cod and other seafood from Fogo Island to wholesale partners and fine-dining restaurants in Canada.
Our Story
Founded by Anthony Cobb and his wife, Janice Thomson, Fogo Island Fish was a community-based seafood supplier. Through championing handline fishing (fishing with one line and one hook), they created a business that honoured the traditional knowledge of Fogo Island fishers and celebrated ethical and sustainable harvesting.
Working directly with fishers based on Fogo Island, NL, and the Fogo Island Co-operative Society, we procured premium-quality cod and other wild-caught seafood for some of the finest dining establishments in Canada, including the CN Tower 360 Restaurant, the Air Canada Signature Lounge in Toronto, along with many more iconic establishments.
In 2024, the Government of Canada lifted the cod moratorium that had been placed on the commercial Northern Cod fishery in 1992. This welcome news had unintended consequences for Fogo Island Fish – with more fishing opportunity available earlier in the season and the relative ease of catching cod using other methods, fewer fishers were taking part in the late-fall handline fishery.
Shorefast will continue to work with fishers and its long-time partner, the Fogo Island Co-operative Society, to procure fish and seafood for Fogo Island Inn and all other needs. The cod served will continue to be harvested by Fogo Island fishers, in surrounding waters, using sustainable methods with minimal by-catch. That continues to be cause for celebration.
Shorefast
Fogo Island Fish was a Shorefast community business.
Shorefast is a Canadian charity that is forging a new path at the intersection of business, philanthropy, and community economic development. Shorefast’s other community businesses — Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Workshops, The Storehouse, and Growlers Ice Cream — are designed to be economic engines for the community: they create meaningful employment, contribute to the local economy and generate income to be reinvested in the local through Shorefast’s charitable programs.
There is no private gain — the businesses operate for the exclusive benefit of strengthening the cultural heritage, supporting ecological sustainability, and investing in the economic well-being of Fogo Island.
Fogo Island
Fogo Island has eleven distinct cultural communities that come together to make an amalgamated town.
The Atlantic cod formed the backbone of Fogo Island’s economy and culture. From the first European migratory fishers to today’s community-owned fishery, cod has always been more than fish: it is a representation of communities uniting to protect the future of their home and of a fishery that continues to adapt while honouring its past.
The Fogo Island Co-operative Society formed in 1967 in response to the 1960s collapse of the cod fishery and talk of resettlement across outport Newfoundland forced Fogo Islanders to reconsider their future. Through the making of 27 short films known as The Fogo Process, community leaders came together to make their own decisions about the future of their island. From this collaborative spirit, the Fogo Island Improvement Committee was formed, which soon lead to the creation of the Fogo Island Co-operative Society – a community-owned and community-driven fishery and processing plant, which operates to this day.
People & Partners
Fogo Island Fish worked directly with fishers on Fogo Island to procure handlined cod. For other fish and shellfish products, we worked collaboratively with fishers through the Fogo Island Co-op.
Our distribution partners - 100km Foods Inc. and Edesia Fine Foods based in Ontario, and Meta4 Foods in Calgary, Alberta – shared our commitment to responsible fishing and local produce, and we were lucky enough to have some of the best chefs and fine-dining restaurants in Canada serving our product.
