Regional fisheries regulators are debating how much they should cut the Gulf of Maine cod quota this year. They're currently debating a motion that would impose cuts of about 15 percent beginning May 1. This would be an emergency measure, giving fisheries scientists more time to work on a full assessment. Today's meeting was dominated by discussion of a 2011 Cod Assessment that suggested cod populations are much lower than previously thought.
It's probably not an exaggeration to say that the fishing industry was thrown into turmoil by the 2011 Cod Assessment. Carried out over the late summer and early fall of last year by a working group consisting of scientists and industry members, the assessment concluded that cod numbers were alarmingly low–considerably lower, in fact, than an assessment done three years earlier.
Dr. Chris Legault is chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. "The analysis of the data was more thorough and complete in the 2011 assessment than it was in the 2008 assessment," he says.
He says more analysis was done this time around to explore the behavior of Gulf of Maine codfish. Looking ahead to the 2013 fishing year, he says a more thorough assessment needs to be done. Dave Goethel agrees.
Editor's Note: As this story aired, the New England Fishery Management Council recommended that the National Marine Fisheries Service cut the Gulf of Maine cod quota by 15 percent, reducing it from 6,700 metric tons to 7,500 metric tons.
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