April 20, 2015 — The gloomy clouds hanging over New England’s fisheries lifted a bit last week when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that several species were no longer overfished off US shores, including haddock in the Gulf of Maine.
Better still, NOAA also reported that the number of threatened US stocks was at its lowest level since the federal government began compiling annual reports in 1997. The number of rebuilt stocks since 2000 is now up to 37, including butterfish found from Cape Hatteras up to the Gulf of Maine.
While some New England species, including cod and yellowtail flounder, remain subject to severe catch limits, the report by NOAA provides hope that some of the world’s toughest management regulations are making a difference — and they might keep fishing a viable regional industry for decades to come.
Regardless, a battle continues between the fishing industry, environmentalists, and regulators as to the extent that some types of fishing affect the ocean floor’s ecosystem. In a new effort to study those impacts, the New England Fishery Management Council is expected to vote Thursday on creating a 55-square-nautical-mile reference research area.
Read the full editorial piece from The Boston Globe