October 30, 2014 — U.S. seafood landings in 2013 increased slightly in volume and revenue, but the fortunes of Gloucester and other pockets of the New England groundfish industry continue to erode alarmingly, according to NOAA Fisheries annual report on Fisheries of the United States.
Gloucester, according to the report issued today, lost more than 25 percent of both the volume and value of its landed catch in 2013 as compared to 2012.
The volume of the port's landed catch fell to 62 million pounds from 83 million in 2012 and the value of that catch plummeting to $42 million in 2013 from $57 million in the previous year.
That left Gloucester ranked 22nd nationally in quantity of catch (down from No. 16 in 2012) and ranked 25th (down from No. 17 in both 2012 and 2011) in catch revenues.
The story of that decline can be told largely by the state of the Gulf of Maine cod stock, which NOAA maintains is even more imperiled now than when the federal fisheries regulator instituted an approximately 77 percent cut in cod quota in the spring of 2013.
The report detailed more than 50 percent declines in 2013 in the amount and value of the of cod landed in New England ports.
The volume of the Atlantic cod catch fell 52.5 percent in 2013 to just under 5 million pounds from 10.5 million pounds in 2012. The value of that 2012 catch dropped 52.8 percent to about $10.5 million from about $22.2 million in the previous year.
There were also declines in the volume and value of other groundfish species, most notably summer flounder, winter flounder, witch flounder, haddock, and yellowtail flounder.
The report showed lobster landings to be a mixed bag, with a slight decrease in the volume to 149.3 million pounds, but a seven percent increase in value to $460.1 million.
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