For years, the Gulf of Maine caught and sold cod fish without a second thought, believing, like so many others, that the ocean is an inexhaustible resources. By 2008, it was clear that this was not the case. In an effort to protect the remaining stock, the cod fishery off the coast of New England was put on lock for recreational and commercial fishermen. But now, recent surveys are showing that the population is not rebounding in the way that the scientists at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute had hoped it would. Now, the same scientists are revisiting the issue to find the root of the problem, and have begun to investigate the effects of climate change. Until the problem can be identified and correct policies can be implicated, the cod fishery out of the Gulf of Maine will remain closed, hurting fishermen, tourism, the seafood industry, and the ecosystem.
