Boats puttered out of harbours along coastal Newfoundland early Wednesday, as participants in the annual recreational fishery sought a feed of cod for supper.

Any individual can take part in the fishery, which has become a draw with tourists and residents alike. Participants are allowed to take five fish each day, as long as their boat does not exceed 15 fish in any one day.

Also known as the food fishery, the recreational fishery has also become a magnet for criticism, as scientists and environmentalists worry about the state of cod stocks off Newfoundland's coast.

In many communities, the weather was foggy and wet Wednesday morning.

Preparing on Tuesday, professional fisherman Mike Hearn said he was not concerned about the weather.

"The rain doesn't matter. The fish don't know it's raining — they're wet anyway, right?" joked Hearn, who fishes from Petty Harbour, a centuries-old fishing village just south of St. John's.

"Nothing to it."

Wanda Dyer, who was on the Petty Harbour wharf Tuesday, told CBC News she is not sure she will head out fishing herself, but is looking forward to a meal of freshly caught cod.

"I can't wait," she said.

"There's nothing better than a feed of fish, right on the pan."

That desire prompted the federal government to revive the recreational fishery, despite a commercial moratorium on fishing that was first imposed in 1992.

Although scientists warn that cod stocks remain very low, federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has said the government is being cautious with the recreational fishery this year.

But documents obtained earlier this month by CBC News under federal access to information legislation showed that four times as much cod was harvested in the 2007 food fishery than the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had thought.

DFO said that it is considering reinstating a licensing system for the recreational fishery, to allow for better controls on how much fish is taken.

The fishery will remain open until Aug. 12. On Sept. 27, it will open for an additional week.