The future of New England's groundfishery: a recent win, but still hanging in the balance.

• Position: PROGRESS REPORT

BACKGROUND

New England's fisheries are in decline: cod, flounder and other groundfish populations are dangerously low as a result of mismanagement and decades of overfishing. Fishing companies that are dependent on these species for their revenues are going out of business. In a blog post to CLF Scoop, Peter Shelley wrote, "New England fishermen, government agencies and environmental organizations all understand that the future of the ground-fish fishery is hanging in the balance." In an important step forward, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed the attempts of New Bedford and Gloucester to throw out a new approach that seeks better methods and increased fishing efficiencies.

THE PROBLEM

In September of 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a National Fishery Disaster in New England, bringing national attention to the alarming depletion of economically and biologically essential fish species. Groundfish populations have been overfished for decades, with devastating results for ecosystems, fishermen and coastal economies. That overfishing has made fish populations particularly susceptible and vulnerable to pollution and ocean changes associated with climate change. Once abundant fish like cod are at their lowest recorded levels in hundreds of years and showing few signs of any recovery.

DEVELOPMENTS

In 2010, a significant new management plan for harvesting cod, haddock, flounder and other groundfish was adopted by the Regional Fishery Management Council and approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Known as "Amendment 16," this new plan accomplished two important goals:

1. In setting catch levels, the plan prioritized scientific opinion over the politics that had previously trivialized scientists' warnings about the risks of overharvesting. As a result, fishing limits became much more stringent starting on May 1,2010;

2. It introduced economic efficiencies into the fishery business by expanding the 'sector program,' an approach pioneered by the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association that allows fishermen to form voluntary organizations for pooling and redistributing catches. Guaranteed a set catch limit, fisherman are freed from a number of regulations and can choose when to fish, allowing them to wait for high wholesale prices or good weather.

These...