November 10, 2014 — The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:
The Northeast Seafood Coalition continues to be discouraged by the Agency’s inability to manage the fishery. Putting the lack of transparency surrounding the recent Gulf of Maine cod assessment aside, the measures being offered by the Agency do not strike a balance between conservation and community interests as required under federal law. The Agency is resurrecting regulatory tools they argued just years earlier were not working to rebuild fish stocks. Contrary to what the Agency says, their Interim Action is a shutdown of fishing for groundfish in the Gulf of Maine. This action goes far and beyond the reported protection for the Gulf of Maine cod stock. Again, NSC remains frustrated over the continued mismanagement of the northeast groundfish fishery.