Definition of a Closed Area:
1. No fishing
2. Certain kinds of fishing not allowed (i.e. certain technologies not allowed)
3. Restrictions of catch in weight, length, etc.
- one of the easiest ways to determine age is size, so by restricting size we can restrict the age of cod caught to allow more cod to reach maturity and spawn
Good Closed Area Locations:
1. Spawning grounds
- We will need to explain this. Stopping fishing in the spawning grounds won't protect the eggs (they are destroyed by nature, not humans), but it will protect the masses of adult fish that are spawning. We should make sure that we convey this in our presentation. -Adam
Suggestions for Closed Areas:
1. Rotating with spawning seasons
- break up Northeast into specific spawning locations and rotate closed areas among those locations according to spawning season for each area
2. Protect areas with cod of Various ages
- Break up the Northeast into locations with large amounts of cod in certain age groups to protect a certain amount of cod throughout their life cycle.
this is a good idea, but do we have an evidence that cod of the same age school (a) together, and (b) in specific locations?