Warming waters contributed to the collapse of New England's cod fishery

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/nsf-wwc102915.php

Public Release: 29-Oct-2015
Warming waters contributed to the collapse of New England's cod fishery
New report shows that warming complicates fisheries management plans
National Science Foundation

For centuries, cod were the backbone of New England's fisheries and a key species in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

Today, cod stocks are on the verge of collapse, hovering at 3-4% of sustainable levels. Even painful cuts to the fishery have failed to slow this rapid decline, surprising both fishers and fisheries managers.

Now a report published this week in the journal Science links the cod collapse directly to rapid warming of ocean waters.

"Here is an explanation for why the Gulf of Maine's cod fishery has not recovered despite significantly reduced fishing," says Mike Sieracki, program director in the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). "Management plans will need to incorporate climate change factors to be effective."

NSF funded the research through its Coastal SEES (Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability) Program.

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