The federal government, and the fishing industry — the commercial and recreational sides alike, with deep dependence on inshore or Gulf of Maine cod — have entered uncharted waters found by NOAA to hold far fewer cod than anyone could have guessed just months ago.
Now, what to do about the cod crisis sits at the top of the agenda of the New England Regional Fishery Management Council this Wednesday afternoon in the middle of its three-day February meeting in Portsmouth, N.H.
Signaling the depth of the dilemma and joining the deliberations will be Sam D. Rauch III, the nation's acting assistant administrator for fisheries, "along with many of my key staff," Rauch announced at the end of a lengthy letter sent late last week to the council.
It was dated Thursday, the day after the dire results of a 2011 stock assessment was vetted by the council's independent Science and Statistical Committee meeting in Providence, R.I.
Read the complete story in The Gloucester Times