Time to Protect Cod!

Please join with others to protect and restore New England Cod!

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A few weeks ago, CLF fisheries expert Peter Shelley stood before fishermen and policymakers and spoke about the startling decline of New England’s cod fishery. He argued that we must act quickly to prevent the fishery from collapse. The response? Hisses and boos. Right now, the managers of this public resource are deciding the fate of cod. They have a responsibility to revive and rebuild this iconic species. Instead, they are continuing a decades-long pattern of risky decision-making that has run this fishery and the communities that depend on it into the ground. Unless we act now, the future of the cod fishery is bleak. You can help by urging NOAA to close New England’s cod fishery for the 2013 fishing year, and to protect cod habitat and refuge areas now so that New England does not lose this fishery. Please stand with us and take action today. Fisheries scientists agree that cod show no sign of recovery and that stocks are at historically low levels. The facts are startling: Cod on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine have experienced overfishing for each of the last ten years. Cod biomass in New England has declined by 80% since 1980 and is 12% lower than the 1994 levels when the populations were widely described as already being collapsed. New England’s cod stocks are currently at just 9% of healthy, sustainable levels. Even worse, the scientists who have been tracking and studying cod for years say that these already frightening statistics may be too optimistic. Peter and CLF are fighting an uphill battle. We need your help to prevent the complete collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery. Please help CLF protect cod habitat and restore the fishery. If you believe, as we at CLF believe, that the cod fishery is worth saving, please stand with us and take action today. Sincerely, John Kassel President, Conservation Law Foundation P.S. Did you know that the areas commercial fishermen want to fish are refuges for the old, large females – the very ones that can produce up to 8 million eggs a year? We need to protect these adult females so they can rebuild this fishery. Stand with other New Englanders and take action today. CLF protects New England's environment for the benefit of all people. We use the law, science, and the market to create solutions that preserve our natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy.

Help Us Save New England's Iconic Cod

The science is clear. Atlantic cod populations are at an all-time historic low. The cod fishery, which for generations has supported a way of life in New England’s coastal communities, may be in complete collapse.

The managers of this public resource have a responsibility to revive and rebuild cod stocks. Instead, they are continuing a decades-long pattern of risky decision-making that has run this fishery and its communities into the ground.

In the coming weeks, NOAA will make final decisions about the 2013 fishing season. NOAA has an obligation to stiffen its resolve and get this right. That’s why we need your help.

If you believe, as we at CLF believe, that the cod fishery is worth saving, please stand with thousands of New Englanders and take action today.

We at CLF are working to urge NOAA to do three things:

1. Shut down the commercial cod fishery
2. Protect cod populations, especially the adult females that produce as many as 8 million eggs a year
3. And, protect the ocean refuges that will allow cod to recover, not bow to industry pressure by opening them to more commercial fishing.

The longer we wait to take action, the more we risk losing this iconic fishery. Please stand with us to tell NOAA that we need to protect cod, especially the large, productive females. Tell NOAA that we need to protect their habitat, and their refuges, so that they can recover to sustainable levels.