A petition from a local tour boat operator to have the recreational cod fishery expanded is starting to gain traction as it makes its way through the House of Commons.

The petition, which was started by Graham Wood, owner of Mussel Bed Boat Tours, currently has just over 2,000 signatures.

He wants to see the recreational cod fishery extended to include every day from Canada Day to October 1.

Wood says they want to see a limit of five fish per harvester, with a limit of 20 fish per boat. As well, licensed tourism operators would have a limit of two cod fish per tourist, per day.

He also wants to see changes made to when the details of the fishery are announced.

He says they wish for the details to be announced on May 1 every year. Wood says he hears from people wanting to make plans to come home and fish, but that is hard to do when the details rarely emerge before mid-June.