Off the Cape, the Cod Continue to Dwindle

Nature: When it's broken, it isn't easy to fix.--Dictynna

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 17, 2005; Page A02

Cape Cod's population of its namesake fish dipped by 25 percent between 2001 and 2004, according to preliminary findings by federal scientists, indicating that the once-abundant cod has yet to rebound despite years of government protection.

A group of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service and the New England Fishery Management Council reported Monday at a public workshop that fishermen continue to take too many adult cod and that not enough juvenile fish are surviving to replenish the population's ranks.