Conclusions

The most effective regulatory measures appear to be increased mesh sizes and the establishment of "No-Take" Zones.
Regulatory measures are often enacted in the fishery in combination with other measures. Rarely, if ever, does the cod fishery only have one regulation imposed on it. This makes it very difficult to isolate which regulation is having the most effective results. Therefore it is hard to create new regulations based solely on the historical effectiveness of a single measure. However the establishment of "No-Take" Zones and increases in minimum mesh sizes appear to be the most effective regulatory measures by protecting a population of cod yet still resulting in increased commercial landings and NEFSC bottom trawl survey catches.

The Gulf of Maine cod is overfished compared to historical levels.
This can be seen in the graphs depicting commercial landings over time. The fishery has seen drastic declines in landings since data began to be accurately reported in 1893. Despite the fact that 1991 produced record landings, commercial fishermen were just getting out of an almost-50 period of very low landings. In less than 10 years, between 1991 and 1999, landings dropped by over 90% from approximately 18,000 mt to approximately 1,200 mt in spite of federal and state efforts to manage cod stocks. 1999 produced record low landings- lower than any other year in over a century.

Recent upturn in landings may be the result of regulations imposed in the mid-to-late 1990's.
The biological results of the regulations may not appear for 4-6 years. A large number of regulations were imposed in the mid-to-late 1990s- six major regulations were implemented alone in 1994. These effects should be starting to come into view presently. The increase in landings between 1999 and 2000 may or may not be a result of the numerous regulations but it is too early to tell.

The cod fishery is currently being managed for 4 to 5 year old animals.
The 4-5 year age class of cod is the target for commercial fishermen, therefore the management regimes are geared towards these year classes. Regulations that only have a life of a year or two defeat the purpose- the juveniles that the regulations are saving in the first year are left vulnerable only one or two years later. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of 2 and 4. Regulations are geared towards allowing these fish to spawn at least once before they are of legal size to be caught.

Managers and fishers do not view the fishery in the same way.
From talking with commercial fishers, fish exchange workers and the others, it appears that this is a very significant problem with the cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine. There is a fundamental rift between fishers and managers. Fishers believe that since they are out on the ocean every day that they know first hand the state of the cod populations. On the other hand managers are using data from scientists who claim to know the state of the cod populations based on scientific trawls and population/spawning stock biomass equations. In general both parties blame each other for ineffective cod management.

Regulations are not brought about in a timely manner.
Often times it will take months or years to bring about a new regulatory measure. For instance, only in November of 1989 did the NEFMC formally declare the Atlantic cod "overfished" in the Gulf of Maine, after witnessing catches decline almost 50% in less than five years. Regulations must be given public comment before being drafted; unfortunately these occasionally get drawn out over a long period of time and no consensus is reached.This is mainly due to the disagreement between fishers, the public and the managers on what is fair and appropriate.

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