close it down for the foreseeable future...at least 10 years, completely...not just the gulf of Maine, completely.
Then, create an investigative team to figure a way to regrow the populations. Keep commercial fishing closed until the nation is overrun with cod and then open it up on a very limited basis.

This is going to be painful.


BTW...mark this post...the same thing will happen with SB... IMO those YOY index numbers will not materialize into anything and they will determine that the danger threshold number they base everything on was not nearly conservative enough.

Hey...what is the best way to cook spider crabs???:drool:

I fear that not only is our nation being Europeanized but so are our fish resources. You ever Google European fishing mags, they glorify dogfish and skate. In my opinion you want to save the cod, cull out the dogfish.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

You can't possibly expect a species to recover when you have protected a predator that feeds on the young of the more desirable species.
It doesn't take a biology degree to realize that the explosion of the dogfish population (thanks nmfs) has adversely effected cod stocks.

IMHO ver similar to seals and Stripers - 10,000 gray seals on the back beaches of the cape don't give a crap about 2 @ 28, 1 @ 36, or whether something is a gamefish or on a menu.

In both situations, man is a culprit, but not the only factor.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I don't get it. I see totes of dogfish being loaded into trucks. Are they illegal to fish for?

I believe the take on Dogfish was heavily limited, if not completely restricted. I think the restrictions were lifted a year or two ago.

Looks like currently at 15,000,000 pounds of them landed, 74% of CW quota for the year. MA has 9 million pounds.

Dogfish = Sea locust
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

The limits on dogifsh are very low compared to their population.