The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has taken emergency action to immediately reduce the harvest of Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod in state waters. Until further notice, recreational fishermen (both private and aboard for-hire vessels) may not retain or land any cod taken from the Gulf of Maine Management Area, which includes all Massachusetts state waters within Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay north to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.
Massachusetts took this action to complement the federal rules set through emergency action by the National Marine Fisheries Service in the early winter of 2014 that closed the Gulf of Maine recreational cod fishery until April 30, 2015 (with additional rules changes anticipated starting on May 1, 2015). The Gulf of Maine includes popular groundfishing areas of Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge.
The most recent stock assessment for Gulf of Maine cod has demonstrated that the stock was overfished with overfishing occurring. Spawning stock biomass was determined to be at 3-4% of the target.
I’d have preferred that they closed it entirely to the commercial guys as well, but limiting it to 200lbs per trip will make it pretty financially nonviable to make the trip out. Here’s hoping the sacrifice leads to a turnaround for these fish in the next 5 years or so.
NT. You do know that those guys are going to go out anyway and fish the same way. The rule states they can only retain 200 lbs. As we saw in the 90’s this is an ineffective measure. They will fish harder to make up the loss. They cannot dodge codfish. This is an extremely wasteful tactic as all 95% of the cod thrown back are dead anyway. I have worked in the industry a long time. Have witnessed thousands of pounds a set or a tow being thrown back dead. All I could think was how many hungry people that would feed. And killing and wasting in the name of conservation. Pathetic.
It is a waste Ben..the commercial boats constantly impinge on the shallow water areas outside stellwagon and the National seashore…2 years ago we fished some structure in about 180 Ft off east side of the bank…good numbers all day we threw back 20 30 legal fish..we watched 3 Trails just east of us stripping everything. ..we came back 2 days later and their was not one fish hooked in same spots . They cleaned m out. ..I was pissed.
Great point Ben, its ridiculous, what is left?
Good points Ben. I’ll be honest, I don’t really have a good suggestion other than complete closure for a period of time. What are your thoughts?
This is Pathic is right if caught by the lip ok ,or it goes back and dies better ideas are needed and not by suits in DC. Wake up
What about NH & ME? Without Cod and Haddock Charter trips, businesses may go belly up!
This Blows! First my God given right to cast a line into the ocean for free is taken away. Then they use my money to support bad research and tell me I can’t fish for cod.
The guys using nets know they screwed up the fishing. They saw the areas they worked get worst and worse and not get better. They new they were cutting there own throats. We wouldn’t be in this mess if nets were banned out right forever. That’s right I said it! If you limit the commercial fisherman to a similar type fishing situation of the snapper guys down south, in the end they (we all) would be better off. Sure they may catch fewer fish but the quality would come back.
This is what you get when the government tries to manage nature. The idiots in government have no idea what they are doing. Just like in the Forest Service. What does government managed forestry get you ? Wildfires.
I predicted this in my book Deserted Ocean some ten years ago. Nobody cared. Nobody listened. It could have been avoided.
No word of what to do about discards and by catch in both commercial and recreational fisheries ?
Nobody will be targeting cod in the GOM, but there will be some taken by bottom fishers anyway.
I think that the Feds or the Commonwealth should put a twenty five cent bounty on each dogfish that is landed in order to help in the recovery and to give the small fish a chance. Most of us understand that the predator / prey balance out there is abnormal.
They are not fixing the problem; only delaying the demise of these great fish. Sad though that recreational anglers are the ones put on the bench 1st for a game we are sure to lose. We need to stop commercial fishing. Draggers do more damage in one day than large groups of us would ever do in a life time. Simple science that I can release a cod and it will live while a dragger KILLS everything it pulls up. For those looking to make money from codfish, learn how to farm for them like other countries that have completely destroyed their fishery and had no other choice. If we do this now; maybe my grandkids will someday be able to catch a couple to bring home to me to match what now is just a memory or me. These fish are a wild resource – NOT a stock. NOAA are you listening? Of course not. I have heard that the meetings have also suppressed the voice of the recreational fisherman. What a corrupt system padded with people that are more concerned with keeping work for themselves than addressing issues with solutions that could work. Thanks for nothing and keep the change for all the crazy taxes I pay for your less than acceptable performance.
Well Said Brian
3-4% of target??? That’s brutal. Hopefully, they actually do recover. It’s taken 30+ years for the Southern New England stocks to seem like they might be starting to recover. I assume, in this closure, fishermen will turn to another fish. So what will be the next fish closure?
Unless there will be someone out there patrolling and watching the commercial boats in particular the non US boats then this will do nothing. Really all this will do is hurt the local economy and fisherman while the foreign ships march home with Gulf of Maine catch.
Sadly Cod will go the way of the wild Atlantic Salmon unless we smarten up.
too true
What about ME and NH, I know NH is getting “disaster funding” for its ground fleet and charter boats. What a joke…I understand people’s livelihood depend on the fish, but with any business, when the supply chain runs out, it’s time tondo something new. All we’re doing is saying “here is some money to sit around, and wait to hit it again”. I wrote both of my congress women and urged them to set rules on what the money can be spend on, such as going to school to learn a new trade. At the end of the day, the technology is too good…the fish can’t keep up.
Should be a hook and line fishery exclusively, it’s working for red snapper why not for cod?
Join CCA
Here is a quote I took from Captain Rick Of The yellow BIRD fishing vessel. He and many other recreational fishing captains have started this so the recreational fisherman have an organization that will have a VOICE TO BE HEARD.
We have formed a new association called “The Gulf of Maine Charter and Recreational Fishing Association” GOMCRFA. We formed this association because we realize that half a dozen pissed off charter captains are just that and no matter how many letters we write or how many ears we bend, we are still only six strong. So if you as recreational fisherman are as upset as we are PLEASE consider joining our club. We now have an up and running website (GOMCRFA.COM) that you may go to and become a member, the membership fee is $25.00 and the proceeds will help insure that we as recreational fisherman and our families will continue to responsibly fish the oceans (as we have).
I agree with all of you especially Chris & Brian, hook and line only. The way it use to be and that didn’t destroy the population. Also, I have gone out on my boat and found areas of good structure on my fish finder and plenty of fish, then a commercial came through and when I got to my fishing area the bottom looked like a desert! No structure left just a flat raped bottom! The commercial guys will piss and moan but at least with hook and line we let shorts live to grow as they shovel thousands of pounds of dead fish they can’t keep back into the ocean on a daily basis. Do away with the useless NOAA board members and put real people that actually fish (both rec. and commercial) on the board. I will be joining the GOMCRFA because we will succeed in numbers someday.
WE’LL HAVE TO RE-NAME CAPE COD BAY TO SOMETHING ELSE.
I love your name I also have a cod based name and you know it’s a sad day when you can’t fish for cod in the cape cod
Why do the recreational guys get lumped in with the commercial guys?
Whats the percent of cod fish caught by recreational fisherman vs commercial? I bet there’s a HUGE percentage difference. They should stop commercial and leave us recreational alone !!
I am a retired US Fish and Wildlife Service employee, who has raised Atlantic Salmon for restoration in the New England watershed. Only one has returned recently to the Penobscot River, having bypassed the recently removed dam way upstream. That was the best news I’ve heard in such a long time. I believe the key to the survival of the anadromous fish is to remove all the dams in the Salmon’s historic rivers.
I agree that commercial fishermen targeting the Stripers and Cod fish need to go back to using hand lines to catch them. This way, more fishermen will be needed, thus reducing unemployment. Also, the small Cod fish will have a greater chance at reaching market size, thus reducing the bycatch waste.
Hand Lines are the way to go. Ban all dragging, it not only kills unwanted species but also destroys the habitat. I am not sure why, but way back there were large fishing ports all over New England and there was plenty of cod and other fish. Now those fishing ports are basically non existing and so is the cod. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s it appear that the cod had returned, however for the past 10 years it has been just about impossible to find one in state waters…. Is this a case of the regulations actually doing more damage than good or is it that fishing techniques not only killed the species but destroyed their habitat. Let the price of cod increase accordingly. Prohibit all dragging and the throwing back of by catch. What is cough needs to be kept and counted towards the quota.
Are endangered whales being saved by groups or organizations of people blocking the fisherman from the whales?
How many boats does it take to block netters and save an endangered species such as cod? Would videos of such events lead to national attention? -Especially if a trawler sinks a recreational boat. Is that a crime?
I agree 100%. Stop the dragging within 25 miles of shore. Give the fish a chance to rebuild. I understand people make a living from fishing but to say they should be allowed to empty the ocean is just ridiculous. Hey when construction got slow in the 90’s I turned to another line of work. Let the fish rebuild for future generations.
This is a problem that will only be fixed by eliminating commercial draggers . I don’t feel the problem is the amount of fish coming to the dock its more about the loss of habitat. Unfortunately the habitat will take decades to return as seen in Canadian waters. There are areas that haven’t been dragged for over 20 year that are just starting to come back
here’s a thought, how about we push all these trawler/draggers/netter’s out to a specific milage off the shore line, 60,80 100 mile off the shore line ( what ever the national marine fisheries suggest’s that will give the cod fish a chance to recooperate) and keep the recreational fishing going with a bigger minimum fish size at least for the next 2-3 years and then see how the fishery is doing?
Can a recreational boater still catch and release a cod in Boston Harbor?
Yes, but you must release it.
Can a recreational guy catch and release a cod in Boston harbor?
Anybody thinking about the overpopulation of the seals that are eating so many of the cod fish.
Hey Guys, will the Yankee fleet and Helen H be effected by this. I’m not sure what waters they fish out of.
Yes they will. The Gulf of Maine is literally all the wayers of cape cod Bay North to Maine. If people want to go party boat fishing they will have a 3 fish haddock limit, no cod, and pollock, if you like to eat them
I would also like to know where they get the statistics for recreational fishermen. I have fished these waters for 40 years+ and I have never seen more than a handful of rec guys fishing for cod on any given day. Even on the bank I rarely see more than a few boats all day targeting Cod. How have we little guys overfished the Gulf of Maine with hook and line. Totally fabricated information. It makes me sick that I can mno longer target cod which is a go to staple in the fall. No Sea bass after Aug 27th, one bass until they decide to leave, flunder heading for deeper water, Blues hit or miss and then gone. What else is there? Haddock? Do I want to spend 200 bucks in fuel to go pick 3 haddock? They are putting the charter guys, bait shops, and party boats out of business and reducing us recreational fishermen to sitting on the docks. I have contacted the Mass fisheries Dept, NOAA and others and have gotten the most rediculous responses from a bunch of non fishing bureacrats. Where is our representation in the government. When will I be able to take my kids fishing again? It makes me sick that our option is to buy fish from China and Canada and South America while we are living on the ocean in Massachusetts. Rename Cape Cod? How about a new state fish. Maybe the suckerfish?
PS. Why hasn’t there been more of an uproar about this. Even On The Water magazine barely mentions any of this and although I love the magazine and do not want it to become a political forum maybe they should have a monthly section expressing the concerns of individual fishermen. It seems the almighty, beloved striped bass always got attention but the lowly codfish doesn’t rank high enough. (don’t get me wrong, I love stripers also). Well some of us more well rounded fishermen do fish for all species at all times of the year. Season is short enough and it would seem thet the cod stocks have 6 months of the year to recover from the devasting toll we recreational guys take on them.
I am from Jersey and fished Stellwagon Bank two weeks ago. I agree with the fact that fish bought up unfortunately die most of the time. What did shock me was how commercial fisherman were allowed to drag so close to shore. I assume there are safe zones for these fish to rebuild. Everyone suffers in the end if they do not.
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