In the last year, one of my biggest revelations was realizing how much we don't know about eastern Maine cod. Although overfished, Gulf of Maine cod as a whole are in relatively good shape compared to other cod stocks in the Northwest Atlantic. However, a recent workshop convened by GMRI and others on the spatial scale of groundfish ecology in the Gulf of Maine helped to refocus our thoughts on what happened to eastern Maine cod in particular, which due to their striking lack of abundance are near impossible to sample (whereas cod in the western Gulf of Maine are quite healthy and well studied). Current thoughts on what is driving low abundance in eastern Maine include low forage fish abundance. It is hoped that dam removals on the Penobscot River will help to reestablish forage fish runs, which may be the cue needed for cod to repopulate this area. In the meantime the challenge will be to convince regulators that cod may need to be assessed at finer scales within the Gulf of Maine.

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