New England

Our expert Sally McGee is the only member from a conservation group on the eight regional fisheries councils.

"Catch-share systems are the ultimate win-win-win situation, providing conservation, economic and regulatory benefits."  — Sally McGee

Meet Our Experts

• Sally McGee
  New England Fisheries Policy Director

• Julie Wormser
  New England Regional Director, Oceans Program

For centuries, cod and other fish fueled New England's economy. But today, cod populations are a shadow of what they once were.

The challenge

Despite efforts to limit the amount of fish caught, cod populations are less than 15 percent of historic levels. Overfishing, damage to marine habitats, pollution and coastal development continue to jeopardize this once productive fishery.

What we're doing 

Environmental Defense is working to restore this public resource and manage species that depend on healthy marine ecosystems. We collaborate with fishermen to develop harvesting cooperatives, a market-based management tool that sets firm quotas and pools resources of co-op members to ensure long-term ecological and economic stability.

Headway on new ways to managing depleted fish populations

Our work in New England is primarily through staff member Sally McGee, who serves on the New England Fishery Management Council. The council is responsible for managing all fisheries in the region's federal waters (out to 200 miles offshore). McGee is the only representative from a conservation organization appointed to a fishery management council. She is also chair of the fishery council habitat committee and vice chair of the bycatch committee.

Recently the fisheries council — frustrated with ineffective regulations limiting fishermen's days at sea — opened the door to new ideas, including catch share programs or Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs). Through McGee's work, the industry and the council have begun to give this approach a closer look.

Well-designed catch share program have been shown to  help fish rebound, reduce bycatch and increase profits and safety for fishermen. Catch shares show great promise for helping New England groundfish get back on track biologically and economically.  

First steps to safeguarding deep-sea canyons rich in corals

On their own, even successful cooperatives or catch share programs alone are not enough to restore fisheries. Safeguarding biologically-rich habitats — the ocean's cradles of life  — is also essential. Through an ecosystem-based approach, we help identify and protect the most ecologically important places off New England's coast.

Thanks to the work of our staff scientists, eleven deep-sea canyons in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions were recognized as rare habitats of particular concern in 2007. Large deep-water coral communities are home to a wide range of fish and invertebrate species that depend on the coral structures for food and shelter. The next step is develop a management strategy that protects these delicate species and habitats.

More results

• Laid the foundation for establishing the first harvesting cooperative in the New England groundfish fishery. The fishermen within the Cape Cod hook-and-line sector cooperative began fishing in 2004.
• Succeeded in getting the fishery council to include harvesting cooperatives in its draft herring plan in 2004.
• Won quotas on the most depleted commercially harvested species (cod, for example) in portions of the groundfish fishery. 
• Helped close 2,800 square miles of ocean to all fishing gear that is dragged across the ocean floor. 
• Secured protection of two deep-water canyons from certain types of fishing gear that damage the ocean floor. Trawling can devastate deep-water coral gardens.  

Posted: 08-Jul-2007; Updated: 01-May-2009