Cape Ann Fresh Catch

I had a great opportunity to speak with a bunch of CAFC members recently at one of the Seafood Throwdowns we do in conjunction with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. Cape Ann Fresh Catch will be co-hosting several Seafood Throwdowns this summer in Gloucester. There is a calendar of events here. I also got to talk to a bunch of folks who were interested in the program but questioned what we mean by ‘sustainable’. For some reason when this conversation comes up people always bring up Cod and whether it is sustainable. The other common question is whether the fishing methods are sustainable. (We’ll tackle the latter issue in another blog post.)

There are several aspects to this discussion, and for many people, even those of us who deal with this issue on a daily basis; we have to admit that it can be confusing. The simplest way to begin is to go back to an earlier blog post where we noted that the New England Fisheries Management Council (the NEFMC is one of eight regional councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act to advise the government on regulations) has recently improved the assessments of most of the fish stocks you will see from CAFC, including noting that the Cod stocks that CAFC fish come from are no longer overfished.

The most important misconception people have in understanding Cod sustainability is to think that Atlantic Cod are all one population. This could not be farther from the truth. Canada, for example fished their cod to the point of extinction, the US has not. They are separate populations of fish of the same species that have as much to do with each other as human population levels in the US and China. We are even learning that within the GOM there are distinct sub-populations, thus the reason Western GOM cod are recovering while Eastern GOM Cod are not. It is possible, even likely, that currently one of the strongest populations of Cod in the Western Atlantic is just off Gloucester at Middle Bank. (For further information on this subject, check out the work NAMA is doing to promote finer scale management.)

Still, there is much that we do not know. I am sure you have heard the adage that we know more about outer space than we do the oceans, which is even true on the fishing grounds we have been fishing for centuries. Our approach is to pay attention to the latest science, listen to the fishermen and listen to those who purchase shares in CAFC.

We know there are other views out there. And, I should add that we also hear a lot more of “I love the Cod!” than complaints about cod. So chime in, post a comment below, let us know what you think and what you want to know more about. We'll be

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the new 8 week season beginning Aug 8. Also please feel free to post a flyer at your work, church, community center, coffee shop, CSA etc. (LINK).

Thanks for a wonderful summer season so far. Looking forward to seeing you all again in a couple weeks.