Stocks and Science
In System Glitch
by Laurie Schreiber
An integral part of the Maine scallop rebuilding plan was the implementation of conservation closures, representing 20 percent of Maine’s state waters, which have been closed to fishing since 2009. The closure areas are set to reopen for the 2012-2013 fishing season. The DMR is focused on future versus near term fishing opportunities by rebuilding the scallop resource while allowing a limited fishery to occur. “Closed areas have been shown to benefit rebuilding efforts around the world in other depleted fisheries,” said Trisha DeGraaf, Maine DMR. See Story page 14. ©Photo by Sam Murfitt
The groundfish management system appears to be seizing up, to some extent, as the industry finds itself facing some unexpectedly negative results in recent stock updates.
Late last year, against expectation, the industry learned that the Gulf of Maine cod stock would not be rebuilt by the 2014 deadline set by federal law.
