November 10, 2014 — Strict emergency measures about to be issued for the depleted stock also will make life harder for those who pursue other types of groundfish.
Federal regulators will impose a rash of emergency measures Thursday that will effectively make it impossible for commercial fishermen to pursue cod in the Gulf of Maine.
Concerned about cod populations that have collapsed to record lows, regulators are closing some historic fishing grounds, limiting the amount of cod that can be caught incidentally while fishing for other species, and banning recreational fishermen from possessing cod for the next six months.
“This is a stock that is in free-fall,” John Bullard, fisheries regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a news conference Monday in Gloucester, Massachusetts. “I can’t overstate the difficulty of the task before us.”
Cod stocks in the Gulf of Maine are at the lowest level since scientists began tracking the species 40 years ago, he said. The cod population is at 3 percent to 4 percent of the level deemed to be sustainable.
Fishermen say they are frustrated by the new rules because they have been cutting back on fishing for years in response to initiatives aimed at restoring cod stocks.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald