Cod catch at all-time low, but rebound could be near

PORTLAND, Maine America’s catch of cod is at an all-time low, but the fishery might finally experience a rebound in the coming fishing year.

Atlantic cod were once the backbone of New England's commercial fishing fleet, but catch has plummeted in the wake of overfishing and environmental changes. The 2016 catch, which is the most recent to be fully tabulated, was the lowest in recorded history, according to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But NOAA officials said there are some positive signs for the cod stock, and quotas are set to increase slightly this spring after years of heavy cutbacks. Fishermen seek cod in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, and both areas are scheduled for quota bumps on May 1.

“The quotas are so constraining that there’s not a lot of opportunity and interest in targeting cod,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “But we’re headed in the right direction.”

The U.S. cod fishery, based mostly in Massachusetts and Maine, brought in more than 100 million pounds (45.4 million kilograms) of fish per year in the early 1980s and bottomed out at 3.2 million pounds (1.45 million kilograms) in 2016. Scientists have blamed factors including years of heavy harvest and warming oceans for the collapse of the stock.