Voices of the Fleet – The Great Cod Crisis

Listen to Allyson Jordan, a boat owner from Maine, express her concerns that the lobster industry is not being sufficiently regulated, despite data showing that lobster fishermen in the Gulf of Maine land substantial numbers of cod.

Listen to Jim Odlin, of Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., question an interim measure that prevents fishing vessels from fishing in more than one management area during a single fishing trip. Mr. Odlin expresses his concerns that vessels encountering cod in a particular Gulf of Maine management area will continue to do so if they are prevented from fishing elsewhere during that trip.

Listen to Jackie Odell, Executive Director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, question how Gulf of Maine cod stocks will be assessed in the future and monitored for spawning activity. Ms. Odell believes that fisheries managers have not yet “gotten to the root of management problems.”

Listen to NEFMC councilmember Ellen Goethel criticize NOAA’s use of older cod spawning data in their assessment. Also featured is NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard in response to Ms. Goethel’s comment that these regulations are “punitive to the small boat fleet.”

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