Main Menu

2. Reducing the Size of the Catch - Quotas on the Cod

Drawing from "Atlantic Cod" by Ralph Mayo and Loretta O'Brien (National Marine Fisheries Service)

Codfish Dispute

Morning Edition, December 15, 1998 · (5 minutes-long) Nancy Cohen reports on a dispute between New England fishermen and government regulators over codfish quotas. The government is trying to protect depleted cod fisheries... while the fishermen say the quotas make it difficult to earn a living. 

Listen to the Codfish Dispute

Fishing methods in the old days

“The term “fishery” can refer to the people, equipment, species, and/or regions involved in fishing. Fisheries in the U.S. are regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the process is complex and intensely political. Conservation and long-term planning have almost always taken a back seat to short-term profit, putting economic interests ahead of the health of natural resources. Regulations are inconsistent, and while bureaucrats pay close attention to state, federal and boundaries, the fish ignore them. Sometimes fishing boats do too.” From the American Museum of Natural History

The plight of the cod is a tragic example of the pressure that is being placed on fisheries worldwide and local economies.

Cod Fishing on Georges Bank in 1880 
from Status of the Fishery Resources 
off the Northeastern United States (NOAA)

Graph from Atlantic Cod by Ralph Mayo and Loretta O'Brien (National Marine Fisheries Service

In the graph at the above, you see the change in the estimated biomass and the commercial catch of cod since 1960 -- the decline since 1990 is pretty sad in light of the fact that the high use of technology should have caused catches to increase substantially.  

The measurement of biomass takes into account both the number of cod fish and their size, i.e. their mass.  

Things are improving for the cod fishery, however, it will likely take many years for the cod population to fully recover.

Created By:

Don Reed
Dept. of Geology
San Jose State University

©Copyright 2008
Last Updated on 
August 27, 2008

Let's Next Look at the Cod Fish Moratorium along the east coast in January 1999