February 6 - Peter Shelley to NEFMC: Shut Down New England Cod Fishery - Last Wednesday, January 30, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to cut catch limits for New England’s cod stocks by 61-77% from their 2012 levels. Conservation Law Foundation Senior Counsel Peter Shelley made this statement to the Council urging cautious management and asking them to consider shutting down the New England cod fishery so stocks can recover.

February 8 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, February 8 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, industry members respond to cod catch cuts; lobstermen discuss options for avoiding a glut; northern shrimp catches are low; new dogfish research says they don’t migrate as much as expected; Carl Safina supports groundfish closed areas; John Tierney introduces a new diaster relief bill, Vito Giacalone is exonerated by an independent review.

January 28 - New England’s Protected Waters are Threatened - Parts of New England’s waters set aside to protect cod, haddock, flounder, and other important fish could soon be subjected to some of the most damaging forms of large-scale fishing. Learn more about this 5000 square mile area with this interactive map.

January 29 - Investing in the Future: A Down East Groundfish Closed Area - Last week, the Groundfish Committee of the New England Fishery Management Council agreed to analyze a proposal for a new closed area off of eastern Maine that would protect known juvenile aggregations and historic spawning aggregations of groundfish, and important habitat. The current economic impacts of closing this area to groundfishing may be negligible, and this closed area promises significant benefits to the region and to Maine’s small boat fleet.

January 29 - “The Fish Just Aren’t There.” - There is no question that the expected reductions in annual catch limits (ACLs) will be difficult for an industry already in a declared disaster. But while these cuts for cod and haddock limits have grabbed headlines, the real story is that there simply aren’t enough fish. The science, the catch data and many fishermen say the populations of many important species are at or near all-time lows. Fishery regulators are eager to cushion the blow to those whose livelihoods are at risk. Unfortunately, many proposals intended to help fishermen do not address the real problem—a lack of fish—and instead risk further harm to weakened fish populations.

January 31 - CLF Calls to Shut Down New England Cod Fishery - Yesterday the story of New England’s cod fishery took another tragic turn when the New England Fishery Management Council voted to drastically cut catch limits for New England’s two cod stocks—Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank cod—by 77 and 61 percent, respectively. Now is not the time for denial. It is not the time for timid decisions and unconscionable risk. It is time to make the painful, necessary steps towards a better future for fishing in New England. Rather than arguing over the scraps left after decades of mismanagement, we should shut the cod fishery down and protect whatever cod are left.

February 1 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, February 1 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, the New England Fishery Management Council cuts cod catch limits and debates habitat protection measures and at-sea monitoring costs; Tom Nies is named the new Executive Director of NEFMC; a Gloucester trawler is accused of using an illegal net liner.

January 24 - Recent paper points to a need for improved ecosystem modeling - Fisheries managers in the U.S., and increasingly around the world, use stock assessments and scientific information about fish populations to set catch limits for fisheries. It is typically assumed that more adult fish means more reproduction, and thus more fish available for us to harvest. But the authors of a paper published last week by several prominent fisheries biologists found that the productivity of fish stocks can be nearly independent of the abundance of adults, and is influenced by other factors.

January 25 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, January 25 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, the SSC sets 2013 Allowable Biological Catch for three stocks; John Bullard denies a request for interim measures; the New England shrimp season begins; the Marine Fisheries Institute will review the groundfish stock assessment process; concern over a loss of fisheries advocates in Congress; an investigation into fisheries rule making finds flaws in record keeping.

January 9 - The Bottom Line: A Better Way to Manage Fish - Some proposed fisheries rules would take us backward, with costly new delays and exemptions that could allow overfishing and reverse conservation gains. Other proposals offer an opportunity to improve the health of our oceans, by managing our fisheries as part of the larger ecosystem. This holistic approach — often called “ecosystem-based fisheries management” — looks beyond the health of individual species to also consider the food and habitat they rely upon.

January 10 - NOAA’s 2011 Groundfish Report by the Numbers - On December 26th, NOAA released its “2011 Final Report on the Performance of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery (May 2011-April 2012).” Overall, the report indicates that groundfish catch and net revenues are increasing steadily, although some stocks, most notably Georges Bank haddock, are fished at a level far below the annual catch limit. Consolidation and equity issues are still a major concern. Measures of fleet inequality generally improved from 2010 levels, and the decline in boat numbers has slowed noticeably following a sharp drop-off between 2009 and 2010. Here are some highlights of the data.

January 11 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, January 11 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, fishermen have caught less than half the 2012 catch limit on 14 out of 16 groundfish stocks; Maine lobster landings hit a record high; the House debates Sandy aid; Brian Rothschild calls biological reference points arbitrary; some fishing advocates support Barney Frank for interim MA senator.

December 31 – The New England Fishery Mismanagement Council - December 20th’s Council meeting in Wakefield, MA, was another excruciating chapter in the tragedy of New England groundfish management. This is not the fishermen’s resource; these are not the fishermen’s fish. This is the public’s resource: yours and mine. It is understandable that fishermen were angry at the meeting because their business world is a mess and getting worse. But conservationists and the general public should be getting just as angry, because their public resources are being plundered and pillaged while no one is being held accountable.

January 1 – Talking Fish’s Look Back at 2012 - A look back at the big stories in fisheries management this year and Talking Fish’s most-read posts of 2012.

January 4 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, January 4 - This week in Fish Talk in the News, the Senate approves Sandy relief but the House avoids a vote, causing outrage; the 112th Congress concludes with the departure of lawmakers active on fisheries issues; the industry responds to NOAA’s report on the multispecies fishery in 2011; debate continues on groundfish closed areas.

December 18 – There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays – After being declared a “fishery disaster,” changes in regulations to allow bottom trawling in Cashes Ledge, Jeffreys Ledge and the only protected portion of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary seems counterintuitive to ever devising a long-term strategy that could help restore groundfish populations in the Gulf of Maine. At a time of the lowest recorded groundfish populations in history, how does it make sense to increase bottom trawling in the best, remaining habitat areas?

December 20 – The Bottom Line: Don’t Remove Protection When Cod Need It Most - New England is famous for cod fishing. But the industry is ailing – and the cure being proposed might be worse than the disease. A proposal by regional fisheries managers to reopen areas where groundfish are currently protected is a big step in the wrong direction.

December 21 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, December 21 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, NEFMC opens closed areas and delays decisions on catch limits; ASMFC cuts menhaden catch 20%;NOAA will return $543,500 in fines; Brian Rothschild replaces as head of Marine Fisheries Institute; a Gloucester scallop boat goes missing; warm waters in the Gulf of Maine cause environmental change.

December 10 – Closed Areas Cautionary Tales Pt. 3 – Something Rotten in Denmark - Previously on Talking Fish we looked at the actions that led to commercial extinction of the cod fishery in some Canadian waters, and the collapse of fish populations in Scottish waters after protected areas were removed. The waters between Denmark and Sweden hold another sobering lesson for New England officials.

December 12 – The Bottom Line: Big Turnout for Little Menhaden - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has seen a lot in its 70-year history but nothing quite like this. More than 128,000 people flooded the commission’s inboxes with postcards and emails last month, a new record for public comment. Scientists, small business owners, nature lovers, and anglers sent letters and spoke out at public hearings. And it was all about a fish that almost no one ever eats—Atlantic menhaden.

December 14 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, December 14 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, a historic vote on menhaden; NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco steps down; a fishermen argues that the decline of cod stocks contributes to seafood fraud; continued calls for the release of a report on NOAA enforcement; the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes fisheries disaster aid; warming waters threaten Maine clams.

October 16 – All About Aquaculture: Environmental Risks and Benefits - This post, the third in the All About Aquaculture series, discusses the environmental risks and benefits inherent in various types of aquaculture practices and the sustainability challenges associated with aquaculture.

October 18 – Murky Waters Make for Poor Fishing - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed a long-awaited rule regarding confidentiality of information under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Unfortunately, it would unnecessarily stifle public participation in the management of public trust ocean resources, including depleted fish populations and protected species. The proposed rule would take the unprecedented and unwarranted leap from protecting personal privacies to withholding basic required information.

October 19 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 19 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, recreational and commercial fishermen express concerns over opening the closed areas; a new website documents cases of marine ecosystem-based management; SMAST will conduct an independent survey of groundfish stocks; barramundi thrive in New England aquaculture; record warm sea surface temperatures linked to a Gulf Stream shift, and the NSC hesitantly supports catch share accumulation caps.

July 31 – Local Summer Fisheries – Sea Scallops – In the last post of the Local Summer Fisheries series, read about sea scallops: one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States and a great success story in fisheries management.

August 1 – Bangor Daily News supports returning alewives to the St. Croix – In June, CLF attorney Sean Mahoney blogged about CLF’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an effort to overturn a Maine law that has prevented the alewife, a forage fish crucial to marine and freshwater ecosystems, from accessing its native habitat in Maine’s St. Croix River. This week, the Bangor Daily News published an editorial expressing support for opening up the St. Croix River to alewives.

August 3 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 3 – This week in Fish Talk in the News: expected reductions in catch limits for New England’s groundfish stocks have fishermen and congressmen up in arms; public support for opening the St. Croix River to alewives; an update on the December, 2011 removal of Shorey’s Brook dam in Maine; NOAA fisheries plans to conduct a survey to better understand the social and economic impacts of fishing regulations on the east coast; a new piece of legislation to prevent seafood fraud; the Maine lobster crisis continues, even as the Maine Lobster Festival kicks off in Rockland; Sport Fishing Magazine interviews Obama about his administration’s plans for and achievements in fisheries management; the Gulf of Maine Research Institute releases a study on changing zooplankton abundances in the Gulf of Maine; and the New England Ocean Odyssey blog posts about the Atlantic wolffish.