"PORTLAND, Maine — One of the oldest fishing industries in the U.S. sank to a new low in catch last year, signaling that efforts to rebuild the fishery still have a long way to go.
New England fishermen have caught Atlantic cod for centuries, but catch has dwindled over the last decade due to overfishing, restrictive fishing quotas and environmental changes. The vast majority of the fish come to the docks in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Maine fishermen brought fewer cod to the docks last year than any other in recorded history, state regulators said earlier this month. The state’s catch, which was more than 20 million pounds in the early 1990s, was less than 50,000 pounds last year, state records show.
Cod are the fish of choice for fish and chips in the U.S., but the collapse of the industry has left the country dependent on imports from countries such as Iceland. Russia is another major exporter, but the U.S. banned imports of Russian seafood due to the invasion of Ukraine."
Patrick Whittle reports for the Associated Press May 9, 2022.
Advertisement 
