Cape Cod fishermen have better limits management as they threw overboard thousands of pounds of the scarce and fabled fish, once so plentiful that it helped to spawn New England cities. This practice was doing little to replenish cod stocks, since many fish died after being returned to the sea. It is somewhat different from federal rules that limit the number of days they can catch cod and the amount they can bring to shore for each day they spend at sea.
Local fishermen said that the new system has the potential to cut expenses. Fishermen in Gloucester, New Bedford, and other New England communities are clamoring for this approach to be expanded, as they face the possibility of even stricter limits on their catch of Atlantic groundfish. Some small-boat fishermen in New England have already gone out of business under the existing rules. Many others are in danger of losing their vessels.
It is told that fifteen years ago, federal regulators adopted the days-at-sea rule to try to bring back overfished species. Peter Baker, director of the Pew Environment Group’s campaign to “End Overfishing in New England,” said that the rules have proven to be a burden to fishermen and have not revived most groundfish populations. He also said that the New England groundfishery now consists of about 600 active boats, fewer than half the number fishing 15 years ago.
Regional and national fisheries agencies permitted hook-and-line cod fisherman here to adopt the new approach in 2004, and gillnet fishermen, who sweep up cod while they are feeding on schooling fish, followed in 2006. It is said that the groups divide their yearly quotas based on what each boat has caught historically. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency that sets fishing rules, says that it supports the community-based approach, but that time is needed to adopt the system in more areas and for more types of fish.
