Thanks for that question. That one has been debated for many years.
We're happy that the science is picking up the growth of the stock. In the next three years, what we see from the science is an expected doubling. It's really matching up with what harvesters are seeing. The growth is happening at a significant pace, and the fish mortality is very low. We're happy to see that year-after-year increase. I think the main thing, particularly for this stock, is that we have a sustainable fishery, and because all eyes will be on it, that will be important to market it.
You have to keep in mind the amount of fish that there actually is. We're talking about 260 million pounds of fish, which is a considerable amount to market. That can represent $500 million to the economy of our province. That's why I speak of that going to owner-operators, staying within our coastal communities.
We have an advantage in the province in being able to supply fresh fish, first of all to important markets in the eastern United States, and it's a very good once-frozen product that certainly is superior to much of the twice-frozen product that remains in the rest of the world. I think it is really important that we build those markets and our capacity as we go along, because from the small fishery we have now—the few thousand tonnes—to get up to 115,000 tonnes, the fishery, our infrastructure, and our markets are going to have to grow at the same time. We need a considerable amount of focus, and this year was only a very small first step focusing on having a longer supply.
I think we have much potential. We'll have to do a lot of working together to realize the value of that hundreds of millions of dollars in potential for everyone in the province.