March 26, 2013 — Authors of a new Natural Resources Defense Council report said the results prove that critically overfished species can be rebuilt, even from very low levels, when Mother Nature is given a chance to recover. That's good news in a world where rampant overfishing is a critical concern.
Maggie Raymond, executive director of Associated Fisheries of Maine, said the drastic measures left many cod fishermen, processors, and other fishery-dependent businesses she represents uncertain about management efforts they haven't seen pay off.
"Fishermen in our association question the constantly changing results of fisheries science," she said. "For example, just a few years ago, fisheries scientists and managers said that Gulf of Maine cod were at the highest biomass level in 30 years. The fishing industry fished within the scientifically set quotas, and despite that compliance, today the Gulf of Maine cod population is, according to the same scientists, at a record low. This volatility in advice makes business planning very difficult for fishermen, and not surprisingly leads to frustration and some level of disbelief about the quality of the science.
"NOAA Fisheries has acknowledged that there are as yet unexplained environmental factors that are inhibiting rebuilding," she continued. "Industry would argue that increased water temperature and inflated predator populations, such as dogfish and seals, are inhibiting stock rebuilding."
Whatever the causes of collapse, many fishermen have been hit hard. "The New England groundfish fleet has shrunk significantly over the past several years, and those who remain have already made huge sacrifices and have substantial financial investment at stake," Raymond said. "Most fishermen's homes are tied to the debt, so that reality adds to the current level of anxiety about the future."
Read the full story at National Geographic