February 23, 2013 — The New England Fisheries Management Council, on which Goethel holds a seat, recently voted to cut the amount of cod that fishermen can take from the Gulf of Maine, where he fishes, by 77 percent. Georges Bank, another fishing spot north of Cape, Cod, Massachusetts has also been cut by 61 percent.
Goethel voted against the cuts, which he and other fishermen say will put them out of business. He estimates he'll meet his cod quota in just three days at sea.
"If the only way to save the fishery is to completely destroy the fishermen – that's bad policy," Goethel says. "You have to find a way to co-exist."
But those who support the restrictions say such drastic measures are needed to restore fish populations.
"We've been trying to rebuild groundfish stocks since the mid-1990s, particularly cod stocks," says Tom Nies, the executive director of the New England Fisheries Management Council, which is charged under federal law with protecting fish stocks.
"At times we thought we were making progress but we haven’t been. Now things have actually gotten worse."
Experts aren't sure why. Nies says overfishing was a big problem in the 1990s. Another factor is rising water temperatures.
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