WARRENTON, Ore. (AP) — A feel-good environmental story is unfolding in the Pacific Ocean.
Populations of more than a half-dozen species of fish referred to as “groundfish” have rebounded to healthy levels nearly 20 years after their numbers plummeted from overfishing.
On January 1st, federal regulators will reopen several thousand square miles of ocean off the West Coast to fishermen who have not been allowed to trawl for rockfish, Pacific perch and bocaccio there for years.
Much of the success comes from a rare collaboration between fishermen and environmentalists.