Georges Bank cod drop by 25 percent

[Eugene]

Georges Bank cod drop by 25 percent
More pressure is seen to tighten restrictions

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff | August 17, 2005

The cod population by weight on fabled Georges Bank, the premier fishing
grounds off Massachusetts, has declined by almost 25 percent since 2001,
according to preliminary federal data, despite the ever-tightening grip
of restrictions on fishermen in the region's decades-old fishing crisis.

The new report was discussed at a federal fisheries science meeting
this week in Woods Hole. The results are likely to increase pressure
on regulators from environmentalists to restrict fishermen further on
one of their most lucrative finfish catches.

Officials from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which compiled
the data, declined yesterday to comment on the report, saying the
information had not been finalized or reviewed by peers. A working
paper circulated at the meeting found that in 2001, cod on Georges
Bank would amount to about 30,033 metric tons. In 2004, the figure
amounted to only an estimated 22,564 metric tons, a fraction of what
is needed for a sustainable, healthy population.

<snip>

The news wasn't all bad: There is a relatively large stock of juvenile
fish on the bank, fish that can seed the next generation, according to
the working paper. But environmentalists say that any decline in the
overall cod population is too great.

Full article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/08/17/georges_bank_cod_drop_by_25_percent/

Edit:
Related article: Numbers indicate cod stocks dropping despite fishing restrictions

[unhappycamper]

1. Wait until the seismic oil exploration starts.

Georges bank will be a wasteland. We, as a species, are pretty effective at killing that which gives us life.