I hear ya. WGOM = Western Gulf Of Maine, stretching from MA to ME.
The real sore topic on this isn't necessarily purely the closure, it is everything around it and the NEFMC approach. Combine that with the BRUTAL Spiny Dogfish Problem up here (and their damned protected species status), and you have a mess.
I agree, proper management and closures can truly benefit the fisheries. That was the case for the Haddock population in the WGOM, which has recovered well, as have the Pollock. It is the Atlantic Cod that is under restriction now. The others are open, but you target them all the same, so it is dicey at best. The WGOM closures span from 11/01 through 03/31 each year, which in all honesty is prime fishing time. Granted, there is spawning times in there, but the gall-durn Dogfish eat everything, including all the juvenile fish.
It will get better, we just have to see out the challenges the comms have put on the Cod fishery. |