Historic cod fishing cuts threaten centuries-old industry in New England

[PaulNreel]

It has been talked about here before, now CNN has it.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/31/us/northeast-cod-fishing-cuts/index.html

[Garone Custom Rods]

It is sad that so many hard working people will be out of work, but the fact of the matter is commercial fishing has become way too efficient and as a result fish stocks are low. The issue to me that really needs to be addressed is how these fish are harvested. Bottom trawls are very distructive to the natural bottom structure as well as the ecosystem as a whole. Even with large mesh nets, undersized fish are caught when the nets fill up and large fish block the smaller fishes from escaping. As a result you get lots of dead wasted fish. Another issue that must be addressed if cod and other species are to make a significant comeback is the food supply for these fish. If bait fish like mackeral and herring stocks are down you cannot expect the species that feed on them to make a rebound because they simply do not have enough to eat.

I truely believe the answer is to move more toward hook and line fishing like we do as recreational fishermen, and like generations of fishermen did for centuries before gigantic nets were used.

[Blackfish Doug]

I truely believe the answer is to move more toward hook and line fishing like we do as recreational fishermen, and like generations of fishermen did for centuries before gigantic nets were used.[/QUOTE]

Yes that is a good answer. I did that for years right out of high school a cheaper more efficient way to commercially fish for Cod. Technology has hurt the industry without a doubt. I would love to see how all these Ya Hoo's would do today without any fish finder or GPS today. I fished on many of boats & head boats that did not have them back in the 60's.

[bulletbob]

I feel for those guys I really do.. Whats the answer??.. keep taking as many fish as they can catch for all time??.. There would be no Cod at all left.. They would become commercially extinct .. Thats the term they used in the 90's when there were few Cod in the markets, none in any number on Georges Bank, and very few in NJ waters..

I recall an early winter trip years ago on the old Skipper..
Capt Dom's son caught 2 Cod on a piece of Conch.. Even the old salts were marveling because at that time, there were simply no Cod around in NJ waters.
Actually they have rebounded here to a minor extent, because I don't believe Cod are fished commercially here.. I may be wrong on that, but it would seem they would simply be a by catch this far south...
Those huge nets simply catch and kill too many fish of all species. Can you imagine how many small juvenile Cod die?? I understand mesh size and all, but I still think a lot of fish of ALL sizes are wasted by those nets... I wish I had an answer, I don't.. However maintaining the status quo is NOT the answer... bob

[reefsquater]

Dogfish will be $5 a pound,
Kusk, the other white meat- $10 a lb
You local filet o fish- $8 happy meal?

Don't worry, we will find something else to deplete commercially. Progress!

[blkbear]

It is sad that so many hard working people will be out of work, but the fact of the matter is commercial fishing has become way too efficient
This is true with the electronics we have today and the equipment used in netting, its easy to over fish an area. In the end this hurts the line fisherman who catch a drop in the bucket and local economy ( motels bait shops diners) of fisherman who travel north to fish for cod.

[Fishguts]

Dogfish will be $5 a pound,
Kusk, the other white meat- $10 a lb
You local filet o fish- $8 happy meal?

Don't worry, we will find something else to deplete commercially. Progress!

Really the pacific product has already replaced much of the east coast ground fish market. The p cod has the advantage of high quality , steady supply and price with the added bonus of no worms. If the market void was not not being filled cod prices would as high as grouper.

[blkbear]

Really the pacific product has already replaced much of the east coast ground fish market.
This is true that the majority of fish sold in supermarkets is Pacific caught.
sable( Pac Cod is very stable ) you have from Washington state all the way to AK mostly unpopulated with high numbers of fish.
The problem is the east coast Cod sits on heavy populated city’s and the fish can get to market fresh and not flash frozen like most pacific fish.
This has been coming on for decades, The area fished by most Comm fisherman are the ledges and banks less than 150 miles out where the cod and haddock congregate in large numbers and draggers can make quick work of these schools.
It’s sad to say but commercial cod fishing will never be like the past.
The east coast cod can only handle so much netting off these historic ledges and banks. While I believe that the science used to measure these fish are flawed you can see by the catches that most are market cod in the 5-10lb range where in the past 20-40 lb. fish where common, these are the first fish netted and take decades to grow
.

[Fishguts]

And just think I always thought they called smaller cod markets and scrod because that's the size the market wantdd and not because thats the only size they could catch.I also thought the reason the commercial fisherman targeted that size is because it was what the market wanted and large volume of steaker size was hard to move.How often do you see steaker cod on the menu. People want white fluffy fillets when they go to Shoprite. Also I have not
Seen any mention of gill netters or bottom gear for the low stocks

[blkbear]

The real reason is you can't find steaker cod. I love cod steaks and miss them.

[dakota560]

With today's technology and the range boats have, the ocean is a much smaller place. Any fishery which is targeted by commercial interests is at risk of being overly exploited....period. If a stock is to be sustained, restriction have to be implemented and quotas set. Again, recreational fishing will almost never deplete a fishery to the brink of collapse. Commercial pressures will do it every time. Couple the capabilities of the commercial interests with their range and numbers and it's impossible for any species being targeted to survive that pressure. As much as I feel bad someone's livelihood is in jeopardy, these are steps which need to be taken otherwise the fishery won't be worth harvesting anyway. The real crime are the small operators who have made a living from the sea are themselves being pushed to the brink of extinction by our own politicians who looks at these stocks as an opportunity to line their own pockets or horse trade access to our waters for their own political benefit.

That's the crime of it all. People whose livelihoods depend on this resource who haven't caused the problem but are severely impacted by the solution. It's unfortunately another example of politicians looking out for themselves and forgetting about the little guy.

Dakota

[aruvio]

I have a new method..

Rec fishermen should all chip in to make advertisements on how there are worms in Atl cod.. Make it available to the masses. Make something up on how dangerous the worms are to people eating them... MAKE SH!T UP just like the crazy enviros do to get support ie sea kittens or fish have feelings.

Disgust the population from buying them.. doubt it will work though

Leave all the cod for us recs. Or like Mike said make it a hook and line fishery.

:D

[Leif]

Just a few years ago, the government projected that the area was well on its way to recovery after decades of overfishing. Federal regulators then raised catch rates to nearly five times the sustainable level based estimates now believed to have been far too optimistic.

That, combined with warmer waters, pollution and policies that protect natural predators like seals, have all contributed to fewer fish that triggered the mandatory cuts.

There you go....

[blkbear]

Look at Haddock last year in the Gulf of Maine. They talked about lowering the rec limit to 5-6 fish because they feared low stocks then turn around and make them unlimited. That was insane.