A Little Bit More
Although it might seem at the outset, that the problem of a dramatically reduced cod population in the North Atlantic could be corrected by simply fishing quotas or a period of NO fishing, the problem isn’t that simple. Actually, this is what the governments proposed. When the crash became obvious to even those most skeptical, quotas were placed on the remaining resource. But it was too late and didn’t help; the population continued to plunge.
Even after a complete ban on fishing was enacted, the population hasn’t rebounded. The niche (ecological position that the cod filled in their environment) that the cod vacated was filled by other fishes that moved into the void. It was a painful lesson to learn that the Atlantic Cod may never regain its dominant position in the waters on the Grand and Georges Banks.
Throughout this entire environmental disaster, the inhabitants of Newfoundland depended upon cod for their livelihood. Afterall, this Canadian province is not known for its ability to sustain farming, industry or logging. Newfoundland’s main resource has always been the marine life in the waters surrounding its coasts. Fishermen owned expensive boats and depended on their catch to support themselves and their families. And it wasn’t only the fishermen but also the fish processing plants and the supporting infrastructure on shore that was ultimately dependent on cod. More than 30,000 jobs were lost when the cod fishing bottomed out. With no more cod, the fishermen turned to other less valuable species to support themselves but it’s anyone’s guess how long before these too will be over-fished. There is no easy solution to this environmental problem once it has gone this far – only time will tell.
Activities
Science & Math – Graph It
Objectives: Create a graph with “documented” accounts of cod tonnage
Materials: Pencil and graph paper
Please Note :I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a credible handle on the quantity of cod taken from the North Atlantic (Canadian and U.S. waters) but couldn’t get reliable information from any two sources. One “credible” source gave a set of figures that often wildly varied from another “credible” source. So…for this activity, please recognize that the figures I present are NOT entirely accurate but are used to illustrate, not document, the cod catch from 1950 through 2006.
Between 1850 and 1950 approximately 250,000 tons of cod were harvested (total for 100 years!)
1951 – 400,000 tons harvested
1955 – 600,000 tons harvested
1960 – 650,000 tons harvested
1965 – 800,000 tons harvested
1968 – 810,000 tons harvested all-time peak for a single year’s production
1975 – 275,000 tons harvested
1980 – 140,000 tons harvested
1991 – 122,000 tons harvested
1992 – Georges and Grand Banks closed to fishing
I’ve provided tonnage for cod that I was able to glean from an array of different sources. I had trouble getting the numbers to match so I did the best I could to provide accurate figures. Have your students make a graph (you decide what kind) that shows the tonnage of cod that were taken during the years provided. This should provide a very graphic example of what happened to the Atlantic Cod population in the North Atlantic.
Key Concepts
Populations and Ecosystems, Food Webs /Food Pyramids, Environmental Issues
Questions
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