Fact Sheets

• The Fisheries Investment Act: Investing in New England's Fisheries and Fishermen

  • Mar 12, 2012, 11:25 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish

  New England is home to historic fishing communities and some of the nation’s most valuable fisheries. Funding through the Fisheries Investment Act could help restore New England’s fish and fisheries by addressing critical needs.More

   

• Overfishing Cost New England Fishermen at Least $149 Million in 2009

  • Jul 25, 2011, 09:15 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish

  Because of decades of overfishing—catching fish faster than they can reproduce—in 2009, commercial fishermen in New England who targeted species such as cod, flounder, halibut and other bottom-dwelling "groundfish" lost at least $149 million and realized just 21 percent of potential revenues.More

   

• Remembering Cod

  • Jun 10, 2011, 11:10 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish

  Most old fishermen talk about the big ones that got away. But old cod fishermen are different. They relive the decades when they pulled enormous loads of thick, white-fleshed bottom fish out of the Atlantic almost every day.More

   

• Turning the Corner in New England's Historic Fishery

  • Jun 07, 2011, 15:25 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  On May 1, 2010, the New England fishery for cod, haddock and other so-called groundfish transitioned to a new management system in which fishermen voluntarily form cooperatives, called sectors. The first year of fishing under the new sector system ended April 30, 2011, and early reports show that sectors have been successful in several ways.More

   

• River Herring

  • Jun 07, 2011, 12:45 EST
  • Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish

  Populations of alewife and blueback herring are in serious decline along the Atlantic coast and face numerous threats. These river herring play an important ecological role in rivers and coastal waters, providing a crucial source of food to wildlife.More

   

• The Magnuson-Stevens Act: Helping Restore New England's Valuable Fish Populations

  • Jun 07, 2011, 12:05 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish

  After decades of overfishing, the storied New England groundfish fishery appears to be on the road to recovery thanks in large part to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Congress should support this success by rejecting any attemps to weaken the MSA.More

   

• End Overfishing in New England Campaign Brief

  • May 01, 2010, 17:00 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  The new “sector” system is changing the way the fishing is managed so fish populations can rebuild, and in turn, sustain productive fishing communities.More

   

Reports

• The Law That's Saving American Fisheries: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

  • May 06, 2013, 10:20 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Atlantic Menhaden Campaign, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation Campaign , Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation Campaign, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign

  A generation of determined, farsighted commercial and recreational fishermen, marine scientists, and legislators have shaped the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that governs American fisheries.More

   

• The Hidden Cost of Overfishing to Commercial Fishermen

  • Jul 25, 2011, 09:25 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish, Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation Campaign, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign

  A new report commissioned by the Pew Environment Group examines the impact of chronic overfishing in terms of lost revenue to commercial fishermen in three U.S. regions with the highest levels of overfishing. In 2009 alone, commercial fishermen in New England, the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions that targeted depleted ocean fish populations lost $164.2 million and realized just 25 percent of potential revenue.More

   

• Design Matters: Making Catch Shares Work

  • Nov 03, 2009, 11:20 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish, U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation Campaign , Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation Campaign, Campaign to End Overfishing in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign

  Catch shares are fishery management programs that allocate fishing privileges in the form of a specific portion of the total annual catch quota.More

   

• Annual Catch Limits Reinforced by Fishery Closure Provisions: Essential for Ending Overfishing in New England

  • Jun 05, 2009, 13:25 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  A report by John D. Crawford, PhD, Pew Environment Group & Boston University Marine ProgramMore

   

• The Economic Case for a New Approach to Fisheries Management in New England

  • May 06, 2009, 11:50 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  New England’s economy was built on the teeming fishing grounds off its shores, turning the region into an international powerhouse by the eighteenth century.More

   

Other Resources

• New Nationwide Protections for Important Fish

  • Sep 06, 2012, 09:55 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Protecting the Ocean Food Web, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, Campaign to End Overfishing in the Mid-Atlantic

  Earlier this summer, regional U.S. fishery management councils in the mid-Atlantic, New England, and Pacific Northwest advanced groundbreaking protections for forage fish in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.More

   

• Progress Made: The Pew Environment Group Celebrates Recent Conservation Victories

  • Aug 01, 2012, 10:55 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Global Ocean Legacy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, Campaign to End Overfishing in the Mid-Atlantic, Global Ocean Legacy - Coral Sea, Global Shark Conservation, International Boreal Conservation Campaign, Outback Australia, Outback Australia - South West Marine

  It’s been a busy few months for the Pew Environment Group, with our campaigns racking up important victories all over the globe. Our teams were active in securing new protections for little fish in the United States, sharks in Venezuela, huge tracts of land in Canada, and vast swaths of the Australian ocean.More

   

• The Fish You Need to Know

  • Jun 06, 2012, 14:35 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Atlantic Menhaden Campaign, Protecting the Ocean Food Web, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign

  (Trust Magazine) Save the whales? Check. Save the sharks? Check. Save the menhaden? Save the what? More

   

• In Cod We Trust

  • Aug 04, 2011, 16:20 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  The tales old cod fishermen tell remind us how we got to where we are today and how cod populations, although increasing, remain a shadow of their former glory. There is hope for the future, however.More

   

• Letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service Regarding A Review of the New England Fishery Management Process

  • May 27, 2011, 09:35 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Our letter requests a plan for changes based on the report's findings, a shared vision for fisheries management in New England and a system of performance standards and evaluation.More

   

• Letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service Regarding a Recent Report on Scientific Review

  • May 27, 2011, 09:30 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  This letter challenges one finding of the report - that there is too much reliance on outside reviewers. In fact, external peer review is critically important to stock assessment science.More

   

• Letter to NMFS Recommending Appointment of Four Candidates to Fisheries Management Councils

  • May 11, 2011, 17:15 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  All four candidates are highly knowledgeable about New England and Mid-Atlantic fisheries and have a vast and diverse experience in the fishery.More

   

• Letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service Regarding Plans for State-Operated Permit Banks

  • May 10, 2011, 16:45 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Our letter supports the plan to expand the permit bank system in New England, which would preserve access to the fishery for local, small-scale fishermen and encourage a diverse fishing fleet.More

   

• Letter to Senator Kerry Regarding Proposal for a Quota Rollover in New England Groundfish Industry

  • Apr 18, 2011, 16:01 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Pew Environment Group and Conservation Law Foundation commend the Senator for his proposal to allow quota from the current fishing year to “roll over” into the next year, but caution that the proposal should be reviewed by scientists and should benefit those fishermen most in need of quota adjustments.More

   

• Letter to Senator Kerry Regarding Revenues and Catch Limits in New England Groundfish Fleet

  • Apr 14, 2011, 16:15 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  A coalition of non-profit organizations signed a letter to Senator John Kerry (D-MA) thanking him for his leadership on fisheries management issues and requesting collaboration in finding a targeted solution for fishermen facing economic challenges under the sector management.More

   

• Success Story: Rebuilding America's Fisheries with One Single Act

  • Apr 07, 2011, 15:10 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish, U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation Campaign , South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign

  In honor of the 35th anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a law that is helping to rebuild America’s depleted fish populations, Pew reviews some remarkable successes.More

   

• Letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service Regarding a New Management Measure for New England Groundfish

  • Mar 18, 2011, 11:45 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  The Pew Environment Group supports many of the provisions in the latest groundfish management plan update including new state permit banks, monitoring requirements and a spawning protection area, but we have reservations about the rebuilding plan for yellowtail flounder.More

   

• Success Story: Sea Change in New England

  • Feb 22, 2011, 14:50 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Once there was such an abundance of cod, haddock and flounder in the waters off New England that the saying goes, “you could walk across Cape Cod Bay on the backs of cod.” New England was built on fisheries, but that heyday is gone.More

   

• Working with Fishermen to Ensure Sustainable Seafood

  • Jan 25, 2011, 13:35 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Years of overfishing have brought significant consequences to one of New England's oldest industries. Fishermen have lost jobs, coastal businesses have struggled and the region's iconic species, such as cod and flounder, have declined in population.  More

   

• Prolific Georges Bank Spared from Drilling

  • Apr 01, 2010, 17:40 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  Pew Environment Group project manager Jud Crawford was interviewed on The Saving Seafood Hour radio show.More

   

• Public Opinion on Fishing in New England

  • Apr 16, 2009, 13:20 EST
  • Conserving New England Fish

  A survey on voter attitudes toward overfishing and Amendment 16 was commissioned by the Pew Environment Group and was carried out by City Square Associates, Inc., a research and consulting firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.More

   

Compilations

• The Bottom Line

  • Jan 09, 2012, 14:40 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation Campaign , Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation Campaign, Campaign to End Overfishing in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign, Global Tuna Conservation, Gulf Surface Longline Campaign

  “The Bottom Line,” explores fisheries management issues, while taking on other related subjects to provide a more in-depth look at the issues facing our ocean fish. With this blog, we hope to continue these informative discussions, cut through the rhetoric, and encourage more people to take an interest in ocean fish conservation.More

   

• Overfishing 101

  • Apr 25, 2011, 10:40 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Pacific Fish Conservation Campaign, Atlantic Herring Campaign, Conserving New England Fish, U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation Campaign , Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation Campaign, Campaign to End Overfishing in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic Fish Conservation Campaign, Global Tuna Conservation

  Fishermen, conservationists and scientists have actively debated how best to manage our ocean fish populations for decades. But with so much at stake, it's critical that as many Americans as possible be actively engaged in this discussion. Lee Crockett's “Overfishing 101” blog series aims to do just that by providing a new outlet, in which we hope to open up the discussion to the larger public, cut through the rhetoric and encourage more people to participate in marine fish conservation.More

   

• Successes of the Pew Environment Group

  • Jan 01, 2011, 12:00 EST
  • Campaign for America's Wilderness, Global Ocean Legacy, Conserving New England Fish, Global Campaign to End Illegal Fishing, Global Ocean Legacy - Chagos, Global Ocean Legacy - Coral Sea, Global Ocean Legacy - Marianas, International Boreal Conservation Campaign, Oceans North: Protecting Life in the Arctic

  Read about our successes, from the designation of the world’s largest no-take marine reserve in the Indian Ocean to the signing of the world’s largest conservation agreement in the Canadian boreal forest.More

   

Videos

• 

  Cod: The Fish that Made New England

  • Jul 25, 2011, 09:20 EST
  • Federal Fisheries Policy, Conserving New England Fish

  Nothing tells a story like the eyewitnesses who were there. Old-timers in New England’s commercial cod fishery don’t want us to forget how we got where we are today. Overfishing—catching fish faster than they can reproduce—is still occurring on 10 of our dinner-time favorites like Atlantic cod. These “old salts” remember how different the fishing was just a few decades ago.  In the words of one of them, “it was the most fantastic fishery I ever saw.”More