PORTLAND, Maine — June 20, 2013 — As the New England Fishery Management Council meets this week in Portland to tackle the intricacies of sustaining our region's offshore fisheries, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute has released a paper that sheds light on one of the most perplexing problems confronting these managers — the dramatic decline of cod in the Gulf of Maine.
"The Future of Cod in the Gulf of Maine" explores the range of biological, climatological, economic and fishery management factors that affect this iconic species.
The report, available at GMRI.org, focuses on cod's place in the food chain, the intricate nature of local subpopulations in the region, the effect of harvesting pressure on the species and the impact of climate change on cod's ability to survive here.
Cod is part of a mix of bottom-dwelling groundfish species (including haddock, pollock, redfish, hake and flounder) that live primarily offshore in federal waters; the fishermen who fish for these species are subject to a complex array of federal regulations. Those regulations are set with the guidance of the council and adhere to standards laid out in federal law, standards that are among the strictest in the world.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald