For centuries, Atlantic cod has been essential to New England’s identity. Yet today, you can rarely find locally caught cod in a grocery store or on a menu – because it has been fished to the brink of disaster. Here’s what it’s going to take to save New England’s founding fish.
How do we save Atlantic cod? These five conservation and management measures could help New England’s founding fish recover from its current overfished status.
Atlantic cod is in crisis. For decades, our fishery managers have failed to take effective action to stem the problem. Now, a rapidly warming ocean is making cod’s precarious position even worse. Now, CLF is calling on the federal government to follow the law and rebuild Atlantic cod. If management doesn’t improve now, we could lose our founding fish forever.
“Our regional managers have lost control of and abandoned the cod fishery,” said Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel at Conservation Law Foundation. “After decades of reckless decision-making, Atlantic cod populations are now in crisis. To give this iconic species a chance at survival and recovery, the federal government must take the strongest possible action today and temporarily prohibit further cod fishing.”
Atlantic cod has been overfished for decades, but at their most recent meeting, New England’s regional fishery managers recommended new catch limits that will further harm cod’s chance of recovery. This plan, called Framework 59, ignores the law and science.
“Fishery managers are failing in their job to end overfishing of New England’s most recognizable fish species,” said Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel at CLF. “Cod is in crisis and the Council once again failed to make the hard decision needed to end overfishing and rebuild these stocks. The proposed limits are unlawful, and the federal government must disapprove them. Directed fishing on Atlantic cod should have been stopped years ago.”
This is part three of a three-part series on the current state of Atlantic cod in New England. Part three explores how a warming ocean is making problems caused by poor management worse. Read part one about the challenge of inaccurate data here and part two on decades of bad management here. The climate crisis… Continue reading Give Atlantic Cod a Break: The Role of Climate Change
The world’s oceans are in dire straits. A startling UN report confirms what we at CLF have been saying for years: Without drastic measures to halt climate-damaging emissions and protect our oceans, life in New England, and around the world, will be forever changed. If we act now, we can still protect our oceans and way of life for future generations. But we don’t have a moment to waste.
New England’s storied cod population is on brink of collapse. Our regional and federal fishery managers are tasked with maintaining a healthy Atlantic cod population. Yet they have a long record of making management decisions that do more harm than good.
Centuries of intense fishing and decades of poor management have driven New England’s Atlantic cod population to the brink. And, while our region’s most iconic fish could still recover, ensuring future generations will be able to enjoy fresh, local cod starts with improving our understanding of how many cod are actually being caught.
