U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, today commented on the efforts of a working group to preserve cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine. On Tuesday, Senator Snowe sent an open letter to Eric Schwaab, the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), requesting the agency seek all possible solutions to prevent a complete shutdown of New England’s historic Gulf of Maine cod fishery following the release of an assessment showing that the Gulf of Maine cod are not, as previously thought, on target to meet the rebuilding requirements as mandated by federal law.
The most recent cod assessment revealed that the young fish scientists originally believed they saw in the 2008 assessment, and which fishermen would be catching now, may have been overestimated or did not recruit to the fishery as expected. Today’s working group included representatives of the commercial and recreational fishery as well as NOAA fisheries scientists and managers, state fisheries managers, environmental interests and independent scientists, and many have expressed meaningful concern about the science that contributed to the assessment. Management options are still being explored but it is anticipated that catch will be severely limited and economic impacts to the industry will be significant.
In her letter, Senator Snowe said:
“The groundfish industry has been living within its means according to the best available science until, through no fault of its own, the best available science changed…. I urge you to explore all possible options to find latitude within the existing law and allow an extension of the rebuilding period. Enabling the development of prudent catch levels that will provide for the continued existence of our historic and diverse fleet is not contrary to the underlying purpose of these rebuilding timelines, and I hope that there will be broad support for such an extension.”
BACKGROUND: The Atlantic cod are managed and assessed in two separate stocks – the Gulf of Maine stock and the Georges Bank stock. Under Section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a ten-year rebuilding timeline was placed on over fished stocks in the Northeast. Senator Snowe and Representative Barney Frank initiated a National Research Council study to provide a scientific analysis of the appropriateness of that rebuilding timeline. A 2008 assessment showed that the recovery of the Gulf of Maine cod population was on target to meet the law’s mandated requirements until the release of the most recent assessment.
