© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Bad News for Cod Stocks

Federal fisheries officials are preparing to release a stock assessment update for Gulf of Maine cod and NOAA Fisheries says, unfortunately, the news is not good. 

NOAA  Fisheries scientists say analyses present a grim picture for potential recovery of the region's iconic cod; virtually every indicator of stock conditions worsened in 2013 they say.

  Dr. Russell Brown, Deputy Science and Research Director for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, says his department is very concerned.

"Because the management actions that were taken following our most recent stock assessment were to reduce the catch for the stock by approximately 77 percent," says Brown "and so there was a large reduction in the fishery.  Despite that reduction, the stock appears to be continuing to decline."
Brown says researchers aren't sure why the decline is happening and have sent a letter to the New England Fishery Management Council asking for the group's help in conducting a peer review of the new information. 

In a statement released Friday afternoon Gerry Cushman, President of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, says that another catch reduction would mean that there wouldn't be enough cod to sustain the few fishermen who are left.  He says people have to figure out what is going on with the stock and address those issues before it's too late.

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.