In May 2000, CLF filed a lawsuit aimed at ending the overfishing of cod and other groundfish species in New England waters. In December 2001, a federal district court ruled strongly in CLF's favor that the National Marine Fisheries Service was violating the federal Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 by failing to rebuild fish populations and prohibit the continued overfishing of cod and other groundfish.

CLF's landmark 2001 lawsuit forced the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC) to create new rules to end overfishing and rebuild depleted stocks. At a contentious meeting in November 2003, NEFMC approved a new management plan, known as Amendment 13. Though a significant improvement, the plan did not end overfishing on some critical stocks like Georges Bank cod.

CLF went back to court in May 2004 to strengthen the provisions of Amendment 13. Together with the NRDC, CLF demanded an end to overfishing of threatened stocks, as well as firmer measures to minimize bycatch - fish that are caught unintentionally and wastefully discarded. While CLF won an important victory on bycatch, the Court ruled that language in the Magnuson-Stevens Act actually allows overfishing to continue on our most vulnerable stocks.

News:

• 12/10/06 - House Approves Overhaul of Rules for Fisheries
• 3/29/06 - New England Fish Stocks Still Floundering; Read the Report (PDF)

Contact:

Priscilla Brooks, Ph.D.
Marine Conservation Program Director

Background:

New England's fabled cod, flounder and other groundfish species are suffering from decades of overfishing and mismanagement by federal fisheries managers. The New England Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service have made some progress rebuilding groundfish populations since 1995 when New England's groundfish were at their lowest levels in recorded history.

While fish populations and landings are up for some species-proving that fisheries management can work - the overall groundfish biomass is only one - third the level needed to support healthy and sustainable populations. Target catch levels for many of the most important groundfish species, like Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, and New England's yellowtail flounder stocks, are exceeded year after year, putting these fish populations at risk.

The Georges Bank cod, long a cornerstone of New England's groundfish fishery, is at only about one-tenth of the biomass necessary to sustain healthy population levels, putting it on the verge of collapse and commercial extinction.

Canada's recent experience with cod off Newfoundland and Labrador, where conservation measures were too late to stop the stocks' downward slide, provides a sobering illustration of the consequences of failing to take effective and timely action. Canada has shut down cod fisheries in these regions indefinitely, and some stocks have been listed as endangered species.

More on Rebuilding Groundfish:

• 7/8/10 - CLF's Position on Amendment 16 to the Multispecies Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PDF)
• Timeline of CLF's advocacy
• Overfishing Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Georges Bank Cod Fact Sheet (PDF)
• H.R. 5946, The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Shell Game: How the Federal Government is Hiding the Mismanagement of Our Nation’s Fisheries (PDF)
• Economic Benefits of Sustainable Fishery Management (PDF)
• Road to Groundfish Collapse (1976-1997)

Press:

• 7/9/10 - Conservation Law Foundation to Intervene as Defendant in Lawsuit Challenging New Fishing Regulations
• 5/16/06 - Mass. sues to overturn new fishing limits
• 12/14/05 - Law of the sea - Boston Globe Editorial

Contact CLF for additional press releases.

Advocacy Documents:

• 9/13/07 - CLF Letter to NEFMC Regarding Great South Channel HAPC (PDF)
• 6/22/05 - Proposed Changes to National Standard One Guidelines of Magnuson-Stevens Act (PDF)
• 3/9/05 - Decision in Groundfish Overfishing Lawsuit (PDF) Judge's Order (PDF)
• 1/11/05 -Reply to Opposition to Motion of Amendment 13 Lawsuit (PDF)
• 11/2/04 - Motion in Support of Amendment 13 Lawsuit (PDF)
• 5/26/04 - CLF and NRDC Joint Complaint (PDF)
• 10/13/03 - Comments to the New England Fishery Management Council (PDF)
• 7/14/03 - Letter from Conservation Organizations to the New England Fisheries Management Council (PDF)
• 5/23/03 - Judicial Order - implements 4/16/03 agreement(PDF)
• 4/16/02 - Settlement Agreement (PDF) + Exhibits (PDF)
• 12/28/01 - Framework 33 ruling (PDF)
• 5/23/00 - CLF's Original Complaint (PDF)

Photo © Barry Donahue/Cape Cod Voice