GLOUCESTER, Mass. — November 10, 2014 — No one thought it was going to be good news for Gloucester. Turns out everyone was right.
Emergency measures to protect Gulf of Maine cod will focus exclusively on closing specific areas of the Gulf of Maine — all heavily fished by the Gloucester day-boat fleet — and will not include additional cuts to the already-meager catch quota for the iconic stock, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday afternoon.
All of the closures, which will go into effect Thursday for six months, involve areas geographically close to Cape Ann that provide prime fishing areas for Gloucester’s dwindling small-boat fleet. The potential also exists to roll the measures over for another six months, thereby spanning the entire 2015 fishing season.
Read the full story from The Gloucester Daily Times