Scientists: Cod population in New England drops 80 per cent

BOSTON – Massachusetts scientists say they have reached the same conclusions as their federal counterparts in a study about the poor status of cod fish in the Gulf of Maine.

The Boston Globe (http://bit.ly/2n4iLGQ ) reports the scientists found the region’s cod are at a historic low of about 80 per cent less than the population from a decade ago.

Micah Dean oversaw the survey for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. He says he hopes fishermen who doubted federal government’s science on the issue will find the results credible.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker commissioned the survey last year after fishermen voiced concerns that the federal government was relying on bad science and exaggerating the cod’s distressed status. The state spent more than $500,000 trawling for cod as part of the study.

___

Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com