Boats tied up at New Bedford, MA. More boats will be tied up in Gloucester following an emergency action closure on Gulf of Maine cod. The closure is based on an controversial experimental juggling of the same data that produced an earlier assessment which showed more positive results on cod. Fishermen are suspicious of an agency that has admitted management failure over the last 40 years and refuses to use real data from fishermen. They also say there is more to this than appears in the main stream media’s reporting. Fishermen’s Voice photo
Cod Emergency
Whacks Fishermen
by Laurie Schreiber
GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Broad-scale rolling closures and a miniscule catch limit on cod in the Gulf of Maine is expected to have devastating effects on the small-boat groundfishing fleet.
“Disaster,” predicted Ellen Goethel. “I feel it’s punitive to the small-boat fleet. Area closures and trip limits – we were told prior to sectors that they wouldn’t work. We were told the new sector system would work. I feel the sector system has failed. If we have to go back to something that didn’t work in the beginning, on top of the sectors, do you feel the sector system has failed?”
“No,” responded John Bullard, the administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Greater Atlantic Region. “I feel what’s failed is our ability to manage cod. We’ve managed cod down to historic lows, and what I’ve said is, I think everybody should take responsibly for that – the agency, the council, the industry. The council has asked us to take steps, an emergency action, and that’s what we’ve done….The council has a responsibility to manage cod back to healthy stocks. It’s not easy. It will require sacrifice by many.”
The exchange took place during a conference call on Nov. 10 to announce an emergency action to protect Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod.
