May 30, 2013 — In this edition of WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, Channel 5 Boston examines issues affecting New England’s cod fishery, an industry reliant upon a species whose numbers are dwindling. Global warming, predation, a history of overfishing, and strict cuts to quotas based on what some have called "murky” stock assessment data, are among several issues that have taken a toll on the fishery.
This year has marked a new low for cod quotas, which were cut 70% from last year’s allocation. According to John Pappalardo, CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association, the status of the cod stock is determined via infrequent, government-run trawling surveys which Rich Canastra, co-owner of the New Bedford Seafood Auction, believes to be inaccurate. According to Canastra, the numbers reported by regulators do not accurately reflect what fishermen are actually seeing, an issue that is amplified by the fact that regulators do not seek data from cod fishermen to aid in their assessments. The example being set by this situation stands in contrast to New England’s scallop fishery, which faced a similar predicament in the 1990s, but managed to prosper following cooperative collaboration between industry members, independent scientists and regulators.
WCVB-TV also spoke with NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator, John Bullard, who is reluctant to place all of the blame on the cod fishermen. Global warming has played a role in driving this species out of traditional fishing grounds and into colder waters. Predation by seals and dogfish has also been a factor in the stock’s declining numbers.
Cod fishermen, whose industry is in the midst an “official disaster,” have received no disaster relief funds from Congress. But NOAA hopes that by reopening 5,000 square miles of area previously closed to fishing, fishermen might gain access to more of the resource. But not all fishermen support opening these closed areas. An unnamed proponent of the closures told WCVB-TV that cod are larger and more abundant in the closed areas, while overfishing occurring outside of the areas has driven the cod population to collapse.