Center for Sustainable Fisheries Calls for Collaborative Fish Survey

The Center for Sustainable Fisheries is calling on all stakeholders in the New England commercial fisheries to support its call for an industry-based collaborative trawl survey. This initiative is outlined in a paper prepared by CSF’s science committee and released on Monday April 13.

“Our CSF science committee members have decades of hands-on experience in commercial fishing, scientific research, gear design and engineering,” CSF president Brian Rothschild said. “We believe that expanded survey sampling of groundfish is vital to obtain better data. A collaborative survey, such as the one we are now proposing, would greatly enhance the existing stock assessment process.”

CSF proposes the use of industry vessels for the survey, with commercial crews working alongside fishery scientists.

Copies of the CSF document were distributed to Bill Karp, who heads NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and Secretary Matt Beaton and his staff at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

CSF is calling for a planning meeting to be held in New Bedford in the near future to set priorities, develop a timeline and identify potential funding sources for the survey.

“We need to address the challenges facing the fishing industry,” Rothschild said. “That starts with getting a better handle on the stock assessments.”

The entire proposal can be viewed at the CSF web site: http://centerforsustainablefisheries.org/2015/04/csf-proposes-cooperative-trawl-survey-program/

For more information, please contact CSF program director Don Cuddy 508-317-5932, dcuddy@centerforsustainablefisheries.org.