Pew: with the worst fisheries mgt record in the country, New England should not loosen habitat rules
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Cape Cod Times] [Opinion] By PETER BAKER August 28, 2014
Peter Baker of Harwich directs the Northeast U. S. oceans program for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The headlines carried bad news for New England's historic cod fishery. Fishermen were returning from Georges Bank with near-empty holds. While other regions of the country successfully managed their fisheries, New England's fishery council had been unable to do so. Finally, the U. S. commerce secretary declared the region's fishery a disaster, paving the way for federal relief funds.
The year was 1994.
If the scene sounds familiar, that's because we're in the midst of another fishery disaster 20 years later. Once again, overfishing has forced populations of cod and some other bottom dwellers, known as "groundfish," to the brink of collapse, triggering a disaster declaration in 2012. The sense of déjà vu is unavoidable as fishermen and officials now debate the distribution of roughly $33 million dollars in federal assistance.
On top of that, a recent update shows cod stocks are in even worse shape than we thought: Scientists say the cod population in the Gulf of Maine has dropped to roughly 3 percent of a healthy level and is deteriorating rapidly.
You might think that two decades bookended by disasters would cause some soul searching among fisheries managers about what caused the current situation and how our ocean ecosystems and fishing communities can recover.
But recent actions by the New England Fishery Management Council, raise the question of whether they've learned any lessons ...
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