Commercial fishers in the U.S. region of New England are protesting a new cod management plan under consideration by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), claiming the changes will destroy the region’s historic cod fishery.
“These restrictions are going to be the end of the trawlers and anyone else buying fish,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) CEO Jerry Leeman said in a statement. “Everyone in the fisheries expects Addendum 25 to torpedo their businesses.”
The NEFMC is moving forward with a plan to divide the region’s cod fishery into four stock units, as recommended by the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment.
In September, NEFMC finalized action on Amendment 25 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan, which begins incorporating those new changes. Amendment 25 establishes the Eastern Gulf of Maine, Western Gulf of Maine, and Southern New England as new stock units. The existing Gorges Bank stock unit will be revised accordingly.
On 3 December, fishers protested the beginning of NEFMC’s three-day meeting, where the council is considering implementing those changes in the New England’s 2025 groundfish season under Framework 69. In a statement, NEFSA said the Amendment 25 changes could “permanently destroy the centuries-old cod fishing business.”
Regulators kicked off a 10-year rebuilding process for the Gulf of Maine cod population – which was officially designated as “overfished” – in 2022. Phase 1 of the council’s Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan includes both Amendment 25 and Framework 69.
NEFMC claims its plan will “align the management of cod with the science” but acknowledged that acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for 2025 remain “very low.”
“The council recognizes the very low 2025 cod catch limits will be extremely challenging for the fishery to work under,” NEFMC said in October.
Protestors said they are hopeful the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will roll back NEFMC’s changes but are worried that the council’s decisions could harm fishers in 2025 before the new administration can take action.
“We hope the new administration will promote American fishermen, instead of treating us like an invasive species,” Leeman said. “But, the ground fishery might not make it until then if Addendum 25 is handed down.”
The 2025 groundfish fishing year begins 1 May.
