I keep hearing people mention the grand banks. I know a little about this situation. But I have to admit I dont know a lot.

Where exactly are the grand banks??? and what happened there? is it true that cod became extinct in these waters? and if so why?, commercial overfishing or climate change??? Did scientists give warning of the sad demise in the years prior??. Has there been any type of recovery since things went pear shaped??

Is it possible that the same thing is happening here or are we experiencing something completely different?? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

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Pretty good recap Here and Greenpeace didn't even put a slant on the story.

About 50 tons of cod illegally taken by a Russian ship in 2002 but not sure if they were ever punished. The area is still closed to cod fishing.

Some interesting info Here about the various distinct cod stocks in that area including the Grand Banks ones.

I've had the following sent to me a couple of times:

In Massachusetts, a long established 'phone in' radio show took a call from the cod crusaders of the port of Gloucester in late 2003 which blamed the demise of their cod stocks on the Government and scientists.

The scientists came in for some really severe criticism for not having argued strongly enough that the stocks were in a precarious situation.

After all, said the cod crusader, (wife of commercial fishermen) "our husbands are just fishermen, they are not scientists and the scientists should have known better!"

During the show's transmission, the show host, played a previous recording of a phone call to the show from almost twenty years previous.

It was a recording of the Cod Crusaders from Gloucester and guess what the caller was saying? "the scientists don't know what they are talking about, there are plenty of cod, our husbands know better than the scientists because they are out there on the banks"

After that exchange was broadcast over the air, the cod crusaders went very quiet!

And the same is happening here but nobody gives a **** aspecially trawler owners.

Hiya Spring, the exact co-ordinates for the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (to use there correct name) is..
FI 44deg 38.6564N
LA 52Deg 12.1645W

Hope this is of some help mate....

No one over there took it seriously enough until it was too late.

All the time there are still fish in our seas, no one will take it seriously here either.

Steve, As they say, you dont miss it till it's gone!!!!!

"As the cod declined, the factory trawlers used powerful sonar and satellite navigation to target the few remaining large shoals of cod, especially during the breeding season when they gather in large numbers. Again, short-term expediency was winning out over the long-term health of the fishery.

During the 1980s cod catches remained steady but that was because larger, more powerful and sophisticated vessels were chasing the few remaining fish. Traditional inshore fishermen had already noticed their catches declining, but the government preferred to listen to the industrial fishing companies which claimed there was no problem. Scientific warnings in the late 80s went unheeded because any cut in catches would cause politically unacceptable job losses.

By 1992 the levels of northern cod were the lowest ever measured. The government was forced to close the fishery, throwing 30,000 people out of work and devastating many fishing communities. Despite the ban, stocks have yet to recover and it is uncertain if they will fully recover given the changes wrought on the Grand Banks ecosystem by decades of industrial fishing."


A lot of this sounds too familiar for me. I am very worried indeed. What can we do? Another letter to Bradshawe wont make a **** of difference.

Just posted a message to Wurzel on the Fat Cats thread and mentioned the book "Cod". After I posted I saw your message about technology and the size and efficiency of modern boats. Spot on Spring but with one additional piece of information needed.

If there is money to be made and it involves hunting there is a flaw in human nature that should also be taken into account, we just seem to lack the ability to stop ourselves hunting till its to late.

North American Bison, Dodo's, Whales, Cod. You name we will hammer it, shame we don't live on woodlice.

Bob

It is too familiar, but hey the fishermen cant be wrong.. after all they are the ones out there catching the last of the cod.