April 11, 2013 — The following is an excerpt from the Conservation Law Foundation's summary and video, "For Cod's Sake", originally published on April 3:
In this video, CLF’s Peter Shelley explains the dramatic decline of cod stocks in New England and the action that must be taken to prevent the loss of this region’s most iconic fishery. Atlantic cod populations are at an all-time historic low. The cod fishery, which for generations has supported a way of life in New England’s coastal communities, may be in complete collapse.
NOAA is currently accepting comments on a proposed rule to set catch limits on cod and other species for the 2013 fishing year. The proposed limits do not go far enough to ensure the rebuilding of cod populations, and CLF is calling for a closure of the directed cod fishery to allow recovery. A second proposal under consideration would open 5000 square miles of currently closed areas to commercial fishing, further threatening cod habitat and aggregations of juvenile and spawning adult fish.
Read the summary and watch the video at the Conservation Law Foundation's Talking Fish blog
Analysis: As part of a campaign in opposition to proposed changes to areas closed to fishing off the coast of New England, the Conservation Law Foundation’s (CLF) Peter Shelley recently created a video to tell “the story of Atlantic cod.” But in the video, Shelley fails to mention analyses by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) and their scientific and technical committees, as well as independent, peer-reviewed science that support decisions to amend the Northeast closures. Mr. Shelley describes the proposals as a response to “short-tem, relatively narrow economic interests.”
More than an economic aid, the proposed updates are part of a decade-long scientific effort to improve Northeast fishery management. Accounting for new management practices and updated science, both NOAA and the NEFMC concluded that the areas could be amended to the dual benefit of marine habitats and fishermen.
In their analysis, the Council wrote: “We find that for nearly all area and gear type combinations, opening existing closed areas to fishing is predicted to decrease aggregate adverse effects.” The Council further noted in its analysis that “allowing fishing in almost any portion of the area closures on Georges Bank, is estimated to substantially decrease total adverse effects from fishing.”
These closures were initially designated almost 20 years ago based on limited seabed habitat information. In the 1990s, the available information about the geography of the New England seabed contained data with only 100 sample points– compared to the 70,000 sample points available today. A 2010 study, which mapped the offshore seabed using underwater video, indicated that the current closures are not in locations that would best-protect important habitats. The closure boundaries are geographically arbitrary and do not include many of the rocky habitats that are most likely to harbor juvenile groundfish and feature unique habitats.
Mr. Shelley’s statement that allowing controlled, limited access into the closures would allow fishermen to “catch all the fish” is unfounded. Fishermen have an interest in protecting fish populations and continue to cooperate with managers through research networks and meetings even in the face of short-term industry distress. NOAA has acknowledged that current groundfish stock levels are the result of failures in fishery management. When the fishery was declared a “disaster” last September, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank wrote, “despite fishermen’s adherence to catch limits over the past few years, recent data shows that several key fish stocks are not rebuilding.”
As certain species recover, managers and fishermen are anticipating extreme economic hardship. Already-struggling fishing communities and families are reliant on measures such as the amended closures to survive. Far from a “short-term” response, these changes can be carried out to the benefit of both habitat conservation and fishermen.
Read the proposals
Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment
More From Saving Seafood On Closed Areas:
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