March 14, 2013 — The groundfish industry has suffered through far more than its fair share of turbulent chapters over the past two decades. But for many, Jan. 30, 2013 – an unforgettable Wednesday – may go down as the worst of all.
That was the day the New England Fishery Management Council approved a 2,506 metric ton (mt) acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank cod and a 1,550 mt ABC for Gulf of Maine cod for the 2013- 2015 fishing years, which represent a 55% and 77% reduction respectively from current levels.
For hundreds of fishermen, especially those with small boats and few remaining alternatives, the 1,550 mt Gulf of Maine cod ABC was unthinkable.
After all the deductions are made
to account for state-waters catch, recreational catch, and other fishery components, the sub-annual catch limit that will be allocated to the region’s dozen-and-a-half or so groundfish sectors comes to 814 mt.
“There’s not enough left to sustain
an inshore fishery at all,” said Vito Giacalone of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, which represents 300 distinct fishing entities and 500 permit holders in the groundfish fishery. “It’s game-over for the inshore Gulf of Maine.”
This article originally appeared in Commercial Fisheries News. It is reprinted with permission. View a PDF of the original article here.