Our Partners

Unusual Allies Form Innovative Partnership

The Pew Environment Group, a conservation organization, has partnered with two commercial fishing groups to ensure that our shared goals of ending overfishing and protecting the livelihood of fishermen while groundfish stocks are being rebuilt are met. The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association, based in Chatham, Mass., and the Midcoast (Maine) Fishermen’s Associationin Port Clyde, Maine, are community-based small boat fishermen who care deeply about the sustainability of the resource and work hard to constantly minimize their impact while making a living on the water. Both groups believe in taking responsibility and caretaking a future in the fishing business for generations to come. All three groups, though unusual allies, are unified in their approach to change the current fishing crisis into an opportunity where all facets will benefit.

Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association
“The Hook” is a grassroots non-profit organization comprised of commercial fishermen and concerned coastal residents whose rich cultural heritage and traditional economies depend on the productivity and health of the marine ecosystems around them. The organization’s mission is to protect and restore the quality of our ocean environments and their natural productivity by encouraging and applying a community-based ecosystem approach to fisheries management. “Hook” members have generated a unique conservation perspective in response to detrimental changes they have witnessed firsthand in the marine environment. They believe that by protecting fish populations, you can build better fishing jobs and bring better economic vitality to fishing communities.

Midcoast Fishermen’s Association
The Midcoast (Maine) Fishermen’s Association is a forward-thinking commercial fishing organization. Its mission is based on conservation and fostering ways to restore groundfish stocks and sustain Maine’s fishing communities. The member fishermen have voluntarily adopted stricter gear restrictions than what is federally mandated. These scientifically researched gear changes were found to significantly reduce bycatch on untargeted species and have allowed the fishermen to get a better price for catching lower volumes of higher quality fish. This, in turn, led them to create an innovative business model, the first Community Supported Fishery in New England, that lets the public participate in the recovery and sustainability of this fundamental resource