Today, Conservation Law Foundation and a diverse coalition of partners are calling on the White House to declare the Cashes Ledge Closed Area in the Gulf of Maine and the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts off the coast of Cape Cod as the first Marine National Monument in the Atlantic. CLF has fought for…
2015
2015
As 2015 Fishing Season Kicks Off, a Still Uncertain Future for Cod Remains
The 2015 fishing season begins today, May 1, and stricter – but necessary – quotas on Gulf of Maine cod will take effect. Last year, scientists determined that the population of spawning cod had plummeted to historic lows (3 to 4 percent of the target level). In response, the New England Fishery Management Council voted…
2015
Fishery Management Council Spares Cashes Ledge But Puts Other Ocean Habitat at Risk
Cashes ledge, a spectacular underwater mountain range in the Gulf of Maine, has for now been spared by the New England Fishery Management Council, which met this week to vote on whether to open this biodiversity hotspot to the most destructive forms of commercial fishing. But, while the Cashes Ledge Closed Area survived the Council…
2015
This Week on TalkingFish.org – January 26-30
January 30 – Rare Glimpse of Ancient Corals and Other Creatures of the Deep – A video from The Pew Charitable Trusts offers a look at the beautiful deep-sea corals in the mid-Atlantic, and the abundant marine life these colonies support. Dr. Les Watling, a coral expert, explains why they need protection. January 30 – Fish…
2015
This Week on TalkingFish.org – January 19-23
January 21 – What’s Happened to All the Striped Bass? – For the past six years I’ve fished for striped bass a few days each fall off Montauk, Long Island, with charter boat Capt. John McMurray, a fellow Coast Guard veteran who is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which sets fishing policies in…
2015
This Week on TalkingFish.org – January 12-16
January 15 – With Menhaden Making a Comeback, Managers are at a Crossroads – It appears that we may soon get some promising news about the fish that’s sometimes called the most important one in the sea—the Atlantic menhaden. These small forage fish constitute a key part of the marine food web, and now the Atlantic States…
2015
“Good Fishing” at Cashes Ledge
Maps offer us a unique window into history. We can see how landscapes and coastlines have changed and which locations had particularly noteworthy attributes. The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center has a collection of 200,000 maps and atlases from around the world, but on display in the lobby of the Boston Harbor Hotel (on loan…
2015
CLF’s 5 for 2015: Resolutions for a Healthy, Thriving New England
2014 was a banner year for CLF and for conservation in New England – a year of landmark breakthroughs (getting gas right in Salem); hard-won victories (shutting down dirty coal in Massachusetts); deep dives (defending New England’s ocean habitat); legal wrangles (clamping down on Cape Cod coastal pollution); and good eats (helping local farmers and…
2015
This (and Last) Week on TalkingFish.org – December 29-January 9
December 31 – Talking Fish 2014: A Year in Review – As we close out 2014 and head into the New Year, it’s a good time to look back on the stories featured on Talking Fish and review some reader favorites. Many stories fell under the umbrella of ecosystem-based fisheries management, an issue that will certainly…
2014
This Week on TalkingFish.org – November 17-21
November 20 – Warming Waters and New England Fisheries – Two op-ed pieces this week address the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine’s ocean. The first outlines the emerging science of climate change effects on the ocean, and the second offers ecosystem-based fisheries management as a sensible response. November 21 – Fish Talk in…