Is New England facing a Newfoundland type cod collapse?
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton Oct 2, 2014
The news from the New England Fishery Mangement council meeting on Gulf of Maine cod was not good.
The stock assessements have shown a collapsing population, that is only 3% to 4% of the target spawning biomass.
At the same time there is evidence that the reduced population is aggregating in certain areas, particlurly the Western Gulf of Maine, allowing inshore fishermen to exploit the aggregations.
This type of collapsing aggregation is similar to what happened in Newfoundland prior to the cod moratorium. According to work done by Dr. George Rose of Memorial University, before the moratorium the declining northern cod stock had aggregated on the southern end of its range. Heavy fishing pressure continued, with the managers and vessels not realizing they were fishing on the last remnants of the population.
Several commenters at the New England Council, notably the Gulf of Maine Research institute, have raised this possibiility for New England...
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