Panel upholds dire cod findings Local News GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA
Scientific review indicates the new stock assessment has to be believed. They got it wrong in 2008 and the Gulf of Maine cod stocks are 3-5 times weaker than they thought. Fishing effort is 5 times higher than sustainable.
They meet in Jan to decide what to do, "Even in the best case scenario the impact will still be devastating". Remember, there is a 2014 deadline for full recovery. That cannot be achieved now. They are hoping for political salvation to push the deadline out further, but wasn't this deadline established as the result of court action? Seems likely that any change is going to have come with some dire concessions to the environmental interests that pushed the original lawsuits. Can you say "Marine Protected Areas"?
So what do you think the recreational bag limit will end up?
How long a recreational season?
Will Stellwagen stay open?
Thank goodness the striped bass stock is so healthy something like this could never happen to them.
There are lots of bass out there, right? The 2008 numbers say so!
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