August 16, 2014 — A scientific and statistical peer review panel is set to evaluate the dire Gulf of Maine cod stock update results released two weeks ago by NOAA to the consternation of fishermen and other stakeholders.
The seven-member panel, compiled by the New England Fisheries Management Council, will review the methodology and conclusions of the 96-page, unscheduled cod assessment update that shows the state of the species to be worsening despite wide-scale fishery management actions, including huge reductions in allowable catch and the closing of traditional fishing grounds.
“The Gulf of Maine Atlantic cod stock is overfished and overfishing is continuing,” according to the full report that was released Friday, two weeks after NOAA released the conclusions.
The report goes on to paint an increasingly grim portrait of the health and future of the stock, saying “spawning biomass levels are the lowest ever estimated” and “fishing mortality is at all-time highs despite the fact that fishery catches are at the lowest levels” since 1982.
Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times