Tuesday, May 8, 2012

2012 Gulf of Maine Recreational Cod Regs

Recreational fishermen that fish for Atlantic cod in the Gulf of Maine received notice concerning 2012 regulations on April 2. NOAA announced that that a total of 6,700 metric tons (mt) of GOM cod would be available to commercial and recreational fishermen for the 2012 fishing year, down from 8,000 mt in 2011.

In 2011, a stock assessment found that the cod biomass was much smaller than presumed, and that a cutback in the range of 90% would ultimately be needed. For 2012, NOAA accepted a 22% reduction in the total allowable catch, but predicted that a much more stringent reduction would likely need to be implemented for
the 2013 fishing year.

2012 Gulf of Maine recreational Atlantic cod regulations will include a reduced daily possession limit from 10 cod to nine, and a smaller minimum size (19 inches). The new minimum size is intended to reduce the number of cod discarded by anglers attempting to reach their nine-fish limit, thus reducing discard mortality.

No comments:

Post a Comment