The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has moved forward with Framework Adjustment 69, approving changes to the region’s cod fishery that fishermen claim will cause dire circumstances for the industry.
The council selected a series of preferred alternatives for Framework 69 of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan, which governs the region’s groundfishing stocks, including cod, haddock, flounder, hake, and pollock. Part of that framework was Amendment 25, which will change how cod is managed in the region and institute four separate cod stocks instead of the current two.
With the passage of Framework 69, NEFMC is officially recommending the cod stock be split into the Eastern Gulf of Maine, Western Gulf of Maine, Southern New England, and Georges Bank stocks – each with separate proposed fishing allowable catch limits (ACLs).
According to a release from the NEFMC, Eastern Gulf of Maine cod will receive an ACL of 47.2 metric tons (MT), Western Gulf of Maine cod will receive an ACL of 256.3 MT, Georges Bank cod will receive an ACL of 75.3 MT, and Southern New England cod will receive an ACL of 4.1 MT. Across all four areas, the ACL will be 382.9 MT....
