b'FeatureBlue cod can even be caught off the rocks by anglers when stocks are healthy.Now, Fisheries NZ is proposingMARLBOROUGH SOUNDS assessments, just guessworkto cut the recreational daily limitBIOLOGY BREAKING DOWNRecreational fishers are getting from 10 down to 2 or even 1. ThisThe Sounds are a biological redhammeredeven though commercial effortflag. Cod populations there are now Closed-door decision-making that has never even been constrained.more than 70% malein a speciessidelines community inputIts a move that punishes Kiwisthat needs a healthy mix. NeedlessAnd now, signs are emerging that who are already catching nextto say, the whole reproductiveblue cod are changing biologically to nothingjust to prop up theprocess is going sideways. under stress.Thats the same illusion that the Quota ManagementThis is a full-blown ecologicalshift seen in Baltic Sea cod System is doing something. warning siren. But again -before their collapse. Once that The dilemma is classic: if wenothing. No urgent reform. Justtipping point is reached, recovery agree to daily bag limit cuts, weanother worrying stat that getsbecomes nearly impossible.know theyll never come back.filed away while the fishery Commercial quotas? Those getcontinues to crumble. WHERE TO FROM HERE?reviewed and increased as soon asBlue cod isnt just a fish in trouble catch rates tick up. Its a one-wayEvery region has its own mess, but- its proof that our fisheries valve. Weve seen this movie beforethe themes are painfully familiar: management system is broken. A and there is no happy ending for Chronic overfishing, especially bysystem that protects quota more the blue cod or New Zealanderscommercial than it protects fish. That cuts who just want to feed their family.Not enough reliable stockrecreational access while letting 42FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE'