Gulf of Maine cod in 1861: historical analysis of fishery logbooks, with ecosystem implications

Alexander, Karen E.; Leavenworth, William B.; Cournane, Jamie; Cooper, Andrew B.; Claesson, Stefan; Brennan, Stephen O.; Smith, Gwynna; Rains, Lesley; Magness, Katherine; Dunn, Reneé; Law, Tristan K.; Gee, Robert; Bolster, W. Jeffrey; Rosenberg, Andrew A.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2009.00334.x

Cited by 51 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…To date, little has been done to restore collapsed stocks in the area, even though it has a rich history with abundant landings of cod, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus, and other groundfish species (Goode 1888;Rich 1929;Alexander et al 2009). The few protective regulations and spawning closures applicable to the depleted coastal shelf from Penobscot Bay east to Canada have proved to be inadequate.…”

Section: Management Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Ames¹

2010

Mar Coast Fish

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Abstract.-This article explains the integration of an ecosystem into a collaborative management plan to restore New England's depleted multispecies groundfish stocks and decimated coastal fishery. Applying lessons learned from Maine's successful fishery for lobsters Homarus americanus, the Downeast Groundfish Initiative (an eclectic group of fishermen, scientists, and concerned individuals) created a new groundfish management approach designed to nest seamlessly within existing federal and state management systems and be compatible with a total allowable catch (TAC) approach, though it does not require TAC as the primary management tool. The plan resolves fine-scale issues affecting the fishery's biological productivity and addresses the economic, social, and cultural factors confronting fishing communities. The inadequacy of systemwide assessments in detecting local changes in marine ecosystems led to the creation of smaller, contiguous coastal shelf management units each of which encompasses the subpopulation of a key species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. Each unit would have an inshore core layer encompassing the species' spawning grounds and nursery habitats while providing a limited, small-scale fishery for local fishermen using selective, habitat-friendly gear. A buffer layer outside the core area that brackets coastal shelf migration routes would also support a fishery using all legal gear types but with constraints, and an outer layer would provide a fishery operating under current federal regulations. The core and buffer areas would be collaboratively managed to enhance local stock recovery by local advisory councils of fishermen functioning under state administration and regional council oversight. The coastal shelf plan synchronizes the needs of coastal ecosystems and fishermen by restoring species diversity and protecting critical habitats while rebuilding commercial stocks. The approach can create robust, sustainable fisheries for all user groups, resolve equity issues among fishermen, and revitalize the economies of fishing communities of all sizes.A major challenge facing fisheries managers has been how to establish an integrated management approach that simultaneously deals with both the ecological needs of depleted fish stocks and the economic needs of diverse stakeholders. The consequence of the failure to meet this challenge has been repeated cycles of economic dislocation, collapsed fish stocks, and degraded habitats. A corrective approach urged by Hilborn (2007) and others requires managers to ''learn from successful fisheries that have been made sustainable.'' In accordance with that theme, the strategies that made one Gulf of Maine (GOM) fishery sustainable have been used to develop an alternative management approach for another that has been repeatedly depleted: New England's multispecies groundfish fishery.The Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan (MCSRP) has been designed to provide management capacity at multiple scales via a contiguous series of ecologically appropriate coasta...

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Section: Management Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Ames¹

2010

Mar Coast Fish

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“…An increasing amount of historical evidence related to fish biomasses in pre-assessment periods is becoming available (Ojaveer & MacKenzie 2007, Lotze & Worm 2009). However, this information is often difficult to assimilate into complex population dynamics models to estimate quantitative biomasses (Alexander et al 2009). This is partly because historical data on some key fisheries variables (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extending time series of fish biomasses using a simple surplus production-based approach

Eero¹,

MacKenzie²

2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Long time series of fish biomasses are needed in order to understand the changes in marine ecosystems and to set appropriate targets for their management and conservation. Fish biomasses from stock assessments usually cover only the recent 3 to 4 decades, and extending these time series using conventional data-demanding methods will, for many stocks, likely not be possible due to limited historical data. However, catch data are usually available for several decades longer than stock assessments. In the present study, we show that catch data, combined with information on average surplus production rate (SPR), of a stock could be used to derive proxies for pre-assessment biomasses. The sensitivity of biomass estimates to different SPR values was explored using data on 55 stocks from different taxa in the North Atlantic. The time series of biomasses estimated from the assessments could, for most stocks, be reconstructed by applying average stock-specific SPR values for all years, i.e. neglecting inter-annual variability in SPR. The approach of applying the information on SPR from the assessment period to pre-assessment years performed reasonably well in extending the biomass time series by 2 to 6 decades for 5 out of 6 stocks used as test cases. Density dependence and major climate variations were taken into account where such effects on SPR were expected. The main challenge for the approach appeared to be long-term changes in productivity regimes. The apparently consistent average SPR among stocks of a similar species could also facilitate use of the SPR-based approach to derive biomass estimates in contemporary data-poor situations.

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“…Since that time, catches have varied, but the general trend has been downward (Ackerman 1941). Now, the entire Gulf of Maine only produces 6% of the fish that were produced in Blue Hill Bay of Maine in the 1860s (Alexander et al 2009). When federal management began in 1976, groundfish stocks were already at a low level.…”

Section: History Of Groundfish and Lobster Catchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishing failure and success in the Gulf of Maine: lobster and groundfish management

Acheson

Gardner

2014

Maritime Studies

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This article examines the reasons management of the New England groundfishery has failed, while management of the Maine lobster industry has succeeded. After 35 years of management, groundfish stock sizes and catches are lower than ever while lobster stocks are at record high levels. We argue that the New England groundfishing industry is caught in a prisoner's dilemma from which it has failed to escape. That dilemma is due to the interaction of social, political and economic variables that have lowered the benefits of investing in rules to conserve fish stocks. The lobster industry, once marked by a piracy ethic, has been able to escape from its dilemma and, over time, develop a strong conservation ethic and institutions. Our evolutionary game theory model indicates that three sets of factors are involved in this cultural transformation of the lobster industry, which has led to support for better conservation rules and for law enforcement.

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Gulf of Maine cod in 1861: historical analysis of fishery logbooks, with ecosystem implications

Cited by 51 publications

References 49 publications

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Extending time series of fish biomasses using a simple surplus production-based approach

Fishing failure and success in the Gulf of Maine: lobster and groundfish management

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Gulf of Maine cod in 1861: historical analysis of fishery logbooks, with ecosystem implications

Cited by 51 publications

References 49 publications

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Extending time series of fish biomasses using a ­simple surplus production-based approach

Fishing failure and success in the Gulf of Maine: lobster and groundfish management

Contact Info

Product

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Extending time series of fish biomasses using a simple surplus production-based approach