Roughly 100 miles off the coast of southern Maine, a hidden, mountainside forest that scientists describe as an ecological time machine offers glimpses of an abundance long lost on the New England coastline.

Schools of oversized cod and pollock congregate in Cashes Ledge, drawn to the food and shelter found in one of the largest, densest kelp forests in the world. Endangered North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales and various species of shark swim above, while sponges, sea stars and sea anemones form a brightly colored blanket on the bottom – all in an area largely off-limits to commercial fishermen.

Now a proposal to reopen part of the 500-square-mile area to groundfishing is reviving debate about how to balance conservation with attempts to keep New England’s historic groundfishing industry from becoming extinct. That debate will continue Tuesday and Wednesday as the New England Fishery Management Council holds public hearings in Brewer and Portland on the Cashes Ledge proposal and other potential changes to regional fishing regulations.

Read the full story at Press Herald>>

Want to read more about Northeast groundfish management? Click here…