Cod and Haddock

Lessons from the New England Fishery

HADDOCK

Juvenile haddock are caught for a survey. Photo: NOAA

In the long history of New England's fabled fisheries, the story of Atlantic cod offers a critical lesson. The first European settlers encountered schools of cod so dense, legend had it that a person could walk across the water on their backs. But our taste for firm, flavorful cod has reduced their numbers drastically.

Scientists estimate that the cod population in the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank is now one-tenth of the level needed to support a healthy population for the long term, and just a fraction of historic abundance. Monster cod weighing in at 60 to 75 pounds that were once a staple of the fishery have long gone to market. Today, cod are caught as fast as they grow.

Beyond Cod

Cod, haddock, and flounder are species of groundfish—fish that live or feed near the ocean floor. There are nineteen types of groundfish caught in fisheries from Canada to New Jersey. By the late 1970s, foreign fishing fleets had decimated populations on Georges Bank and elsewhere. Congress responded by extending US jurisdiction out to 200 miles from the coast, effectively ending foreign fishing in these waters. However, within ten years, American fishing vessels were catching more than the foreign trawlers before them. By 1990, the New England fishing fleet had grown four times larger than what we now know a sustainable fishery can support.

Over two decades, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has struggled with a seemingly irreconcilable dilemma: how to rebuild groundfish populations without putting fishermen out of business. Too often, managers have side-stepped scientific recommendations in favor of overly optimistic scenarios that allow fishermen to catch more fish in the short-term. The result: neither the fish nor the fishermen have been served for the long-term.

Prolonged depletion caused by chronic overfishing has taken a heavy toll on coastal communities, which have depended on this resource for centuries. Fishermen have used up their savings, and businesses which support them have closed their doors. Vessels go to sea in disrepair.

A Positive Lesson: Haddock

There is one bright spot in the New England groundfish story. When the haddock population collapsed in the 1990s, the National Marine Fisheries Service responded with emergency action to close large areas of Georges Bank to fishing, including places where haddock reproduce. Now haddock numbers have grown to double the amount necessary to sustain a healthy population. With the right management—decisive management—fish populations can recover.

Regulatory History

In 2003, responding to a court order, the NEFMC enacted Amendment 13 to rebuild groundfish populations within ten years, the maximum time-period allowed by law. They laid out a phased strategy, with reductions in fishing days scheduled for 2004, 2006, and again in 2009. In each case, the reductions of fishing effort were to be preceded by major scientific assessments of the rebuilding progress of the nineteen groundfish stocks. The third scheduled Groundfish Assessment Review Meeting (GARM III) in August 2008 found progress to be erratic; some stocks have improved, some have gotten worse. Their assessment:

• Overfishing continues on 13 stocks
• Half-way through the rebuilding timeframe, 12 of 19 stocks are still overfished
• Some species of flounder are at less than 10 percent of scientific population target
• Georges Bank cod languishes at 12 percent of optimum population size for a sustainable fishery

Unable to complete a plan in time to further reduce fishing effort in 2009 as required to meet their responsibility under the law, the NEFMC requested the National Marine Fishery Service to take Interim Action under secretarial authority.

What Ocean Conservancy Is Doing to Help

The challenge of restoring New England fisheries defies easy solutions. Ocean Conservancy advocates have been diligent in pursuit of pragmatic measures to end overfishing once and for all and allow communities dependant on abundant groundfish a chance to thrive once again. In the end, there is only one route to success:

• Rebuild New England groundfish populations as quickly as possible based on sound, science-based policy
• End overfishing by setting conservative catch limits determined by expert scientists
• Ensure that catch limits are not exceeded through careful monitoring and accountability
• Protect essential marine habitats and reduce bycatch through incentives that reward low-impact fishing technologies

The day has come for the fishing industry of New England to turn a new page in its long history. Rebuilding depleted fish stocks will require sacrifice in the near-term, but the investment will pay dividends. Groundfish populations restored to abundance will open vast new opportunities.

Progressive fishermen, working with scientists and environmentalists, can capture a new ethic of environmentally responsible fishing. Advanced information technology offers to revolutionize fishing; knowledge is the key. Ocean Conservancy stands ready to recognize and reward the innovative talent of New England fishermen in pursuit of a sustainable future.