Announcment on cod today at 2:30 PM
 

NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, John Bullard, will be hosting a Telephone Town Hall and webinar on Monday at 2:30 pm to announce new management measures for Gulf of Maine Cod.

The call-in and webinar information are provided below:

Dial-in: 888-324-8125 passcode: Cod

Webinar info:

Event number: 664 112 750

Event password: Meeting123


Event address for attendees: https://noaaevents.webex.com/noaaeve...=664112750&t=a

FYI...I just posted this on the MSBA FB page...edited slightly for this post

MSBA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ALERT: If you attend MSBA monthly meetings you have heard me warning/preparing our membership to be ready for this very dark day. I am saddened to let you know that today the National Marine Fisheries Service announced an Emergency Action to institute needed protections for what is left of Gulf of Maine Cod. The action will go into effect this Thursday. The action includes multiple measures that significantly effect not only recreational fishing, but the many businesses and jobs that support recreational fishing for cod, haddock, pollock etc. Some of the major details include a zero possession limit of Cod in the Gulf of Maine until at least May 1, 2015. A similarly devastating set of permanent actions expected to begin on May 1, 2015 are still being developed. Other details include massive areas outside of state waters closed to all "gear capable of catching ground fish" which includes all recreational bottom fishing. Due to by-catch and discard mortality related to fishing for both cod and haddock, only a very small haddock limit of either two or three haddock will be allowed outside the closed areas. These areas will change as the months progress however they are located where we fish when we fish for cod, haddock etc. I believe we will be allowed one cod in state waters and I'm not sure about haddock yet. MSBA will publish a more comprehensive review and will also be passing along plenty of information via our FB page in the coming days, weeks and months. It is important that our members are aware that I am the acting Vice Chair of the New England Council's Recreational Advisory Panel. MSBA will only be posting information we feel is accurate and from reliable sources such as government agencies etc. We have already read misleading and incorrect information elsewhere on the internet. It is truly a sad day. Our recreational community should be angry. Of the FIVE seats on the New England Fishery Management Council currently held by MA, NOT ONE is held by a recreational community representative. MSBA will be working with other recreational fishery leaders to organize effective means for our members and other anglers to turn our collective anger into effective actions. Stay tuned.

Devastating . As owner of a charter business this is a crushing blow .
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I'm not a ground fisherman, not running my 20 footer to the bank anytime soon, but "management" seems to be lacking when it get's to be this grime. Is this like putting the fox in charge of the hen house and then wondering where all the chickens went?

What are the dogfish populations like in the gulf of Maine?
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So long cod fishing.
Next up, so long all fishing 50sq miles of Stellawagen (and that will be the start of it)
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You are right Ronnie, it's going to get a whole lot worse than this once the nuts jobs shut the down the whole bank to all fishing. We will need the "Occupy Stellwagen" response with an Armada of rod and reel boats out there in protest. This has been their agenda all along...
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Well, folks, in the end, things are what they are; there simply aren't any more Cod out there to be caught. Cod are essentially no longer a viable fishery anyway, so at this point I'm not sure what there is left to lose. It's about where stripers were in the early 80s. If they do nothing, there will be nothing to fish for in a few years anyway. It's either nothing now or nothing later.

You ain't seeing cod come back anytime soon.
State needs a new fish.
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You mean that all their "reports" and "calculations" over the past 5 years (and more) were nothing but expert guesstimations?
Boy, I'd be shocked if it weren't the status quo for the industry.

One year they say we're having a banner year, next we on the verge of collapse. Maybe if we had people in charge that didn't have a personally vested interest in just keeping their job, regardless of how horribly they perform it, maybe then we'd have a shot of saving the industry.

Until then it will be just more of the same of sorry story, one we'll be telling our kids ("You know, I can remember when we "used" to be able to fish for free and keep fish to eat, but now we need to pay to look at the ocean and buy fish from another country that fishes the same waters we can't!"

A little more information on the changes.

http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries...odbulletin.pdf

2008 we started seeing good numbers of cod come back on Stellwagen but it was mostly small fish. About 10-1 shorts to keepers.
2009 it continued to get better with numbers and size. About 2-1 shorts to keepers.
2010 was even better with just about all keepers.
Then came the draggers in 2011 working all winter 24/7 thanks DB Jane Lubchenco.




UOTE=FishermanTim;1056243]You mean that all their "reports" and "calculations" over the past 5 years (and more) were nothing but expert guesstimations?
Boy, I'd be shocked if it weren't the status quo for the industry.

One year they say we're having a banner year, next we on the verge of collapse. Maybe if we had people in charge that didn't have a personally vested interest in just keeping their job, regardless of how horribly they perform it, maybe then we'd have a shot of saving the industry.

Until then it will be just more of the same of sorry story, one we'll be telling our kids ("You know, I can remember when we "used" to be able to fish for free and keep fish to eat, but now we need to pay to look at the ocean and buy fish from another country that fishes the same waters we can't!"[/QUOTE]
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Recreational cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine has been banned since August 31st.
Why this new emergency action includes a recreational fishing closure, on a fishery that's already off limits, I can't understand.

And is it really "closed" if every commercial boat still gets to kill, and $ell, 200 pounds a day, Every day?
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Not to mention the haddock...the commercial harvest of Haddock was just increased by 100% while the rec harvest was not increased at all...pack of idiots running the show...
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As of right now, mid water trawlers are still ok to fish next year but recs can't...crazy...
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the real head-scratcher is how do they give out a huge increase in haddock, while trying to protect cod? 200lbs of cod bycatch, and then the rest gets kicked out the scuppers.... that doesn't make any sense whatsoever....

All they had to do is ban draggers and make it a rod and reel fishery but no.....Yep I'm done ....if rules don't change boat is for sale in spring.....anyone wanna by a boat ?
Totally sux....
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my understanding these closure areas are closed to all fishing regardless off species. or method of fishing

and haddock and pollock are the next on the list to be fished out ... and dogfish wont be far behind

Cod were wiped out by a combination greed globe warming people fishing bigger boats bigger nets and better technology, have all lead to the demise! its just another example of big fish lobbyist gaming the system and most want what they want now and feel they can take what they want and dont care what the future brings the'll be dead . they you get baker questioning the science really why so he walk between the issue

here are your choices Ban fishing now so you hope to have these fish later on (a little pain now)

or take all the fish collapse the stocks and not be able to fish because their aren't any (or pain forever )

I dont care what role doggies play they can go extinct for all i care.... hate them damn things....


Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Sounds like a drastic measure. :-(

1 - The closed areas are closed to all fishing gear than can catch groundfish.

2 - There are nets, called a Rhule trawl, which will catch haddock without catching cod.

3 - The real head-scratcher is why can they increase the commercial quota for haddock and do nothing to the recreational quota?

Fisheries mismanagement at its finest...what we need is common sense...
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Fisheries management and common sense.
Those two shall never meet.
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Not sure what everyone's so pissed off about?. We've been screaming for them to get rid of the draggers, get rid of the commercial guys. well they just did and everyone starts yelling "morons"&" mismanagement" .

The recreational side was closed already until next year anyways, so zero change there.
Now They all but shut down the cod for the big boats making it only 200 pounds a day and rolling closures that put our entire area off limits, temporarily, to all groundfishing.
Finally, what we've been asking for we got!
Keep the daggers from pounding the bank all winter and save what's left of our cod.
This could be a blessing in disguise.
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My issue is more with the haddock... 100% increase for commercial and no increase for rec. in a few years they will say Haddock fishery is in collapse (hope that isn't the case but it seems like that's how it goes recently)
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