Tag Archives: New England groundfish

As I see It: More US action required on New England fishery – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva

On March 30, Carlos Rafael – the infamous “Codfather” of New Bedford, Massachusetts – pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.,,, His fraud in mislabeling nearly 800,000 pounds of fish to evade quotas on cod, flounder and sole was so massive that scientific studies using the misreported landings may have to be scrapped, adding additional uncertainty to a fishery that has been teetering on the edge of complete collapse for decades.,,, The Fisheries Service must also start saying ‘no’ to the New England Fishery Management Council, a regional regulatory body that includes many industry representatives.,,,It’s time to end the convenient and false narratives that blame science-based fisheries regulations and ocean conservation initiatives, such as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument on the edge of the continental shelf off Cape Cod, for problems they did not create. Click here to read the op-ed 09:41

Square One: New England Fishery Managers Trying to Un-do Decades of Protection

By Carl Safina and Elizabeth Brown In the early 1990’s many New England groundfish species (e.g. cod, haddock, and flounders) collapsed from decades of overfishing. To help rebuild these populations, managers closed several areas to groundfish fishing. These areas were designed to provide protection for groundfish species and their habitats, protecting them from destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling. Read more here