Groundfishing Industry To Take Another Severe Blow

More bleak news for the groundfishing industry.

NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard announced Monday the Atlantic cod stock is in a free-fall, and more proposed cuts to the quota are on the table. Bullard says stock abundance is just 3-4% of levels deemed sustainable.

The New England Fisheries Management Council is recommending a 75% cut in allowable catch for cod for the 2015 fishing season, dropping the haul from 1,550 metric tons to just 386 metric tons.

Bullard says fishing grounds with the highest aggregations of cod will likely be closed.

The council will be meeting this week to discuss long-term management measures to nurse the cod stock back to healthy proportions.

If approved, the new interim restrictions will be implemented in time for May 1, the start of the new fishing season.