February 1, 2013 — So why aren't the fishermen catching their quotas? In most cases they are, and for a few they are not for complex reasons. But the fishermen don't accept that "the fish aren't there" is one of them.
A question came up this week: If fishermen cannot find cod in the Gulf of Maine or Georges Bank, why would they care if the government slashes quotas?
Answer: Because things are so bad right now, short term, they might not care, said Robert Vanasse, who runs SavingSeafood.com and who canvassed people in the regional fishery Thursday.
But the fishing community continues to disbelieve the National Marine Fisheries Service when it says, in the voice of John Bullard, "The fish aren't there."
The fish have moved, they insist. Too-warm water during mild winters drove them to colder water. But a cold winter such as this one could bring them back almost overnight. February and March will tell, with the coldest water.
And if that happens, there's trouble, because under the strict limits set by the New England Fishery Management Council this week, the low quotas for Gulf of Maine cod cannot be revisited for three years without a complete stock assessment.
Meanwhile, suddenly plentiful cod would become a "choke species" with scarce and costly quota, ending all fishing within a sector if the boats in that sector find too many.
This scenario might not be far-fetched, said Vanasse. He said Superstorm Sandy brought with it a wave of cod, suggesting strongly that the cod are out there, just not where we can find them.
Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard Times