1999 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Lobster traps, Boothbay. 



Maine. 



fish closure areas in the Georges Bank-Nantucket 

 Shoals region. 



To comply with the overfishing definition, the 

 fishing mortality rate of the lobster fishery needs 

 to be reduced significantly. Recent increases in 

 landings stem from increased effort and apparent 

 increases in abundance most likely due to favor- 

 able environmental conditions for the survival of 

 pre-recruits. The lobster fishery is almost exclu- 

 sively supported by animals recently molted, most 

 of which are not sexually mature. At present, 

 American lobster populations are regulated pri- 

 marily by a minimimi carapace length set at 3- 1 /4 

 inches (81.3 mm). Amendment 3 to the Ameri- 

 can Lobster Fishery Management Plan, approved 

 in December 1997, incorporates effort reduction 

 and area management and contains regulations on 

 minmiiini and maximimi landing sizes, prohibi- 

 tion of berried and v-notched' female lobsters, lim- 

 its on gauge size, trap sizes and numbers, limits 

 on nontrap fishermen landings, and requirements 

 for biodegradable mesh panels and escape vents 

 in traps. U.S. management effort continues to be 

 complicated by the international trade in live lob- 

 sters from Canada. 



The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis- 

 sion regulates the northern shrimp fishery in the 



'V-notchint; is .i ni.irk inscribed on thtf cirapaccs of hcrricil 

 fcm.ilcs so that they will lie retopnizcd .is female and released, 

 even when not carr\inj; ei;gs. 



Culf of Maine. Regulations control the duration 

 of the harvesting season (December to May) and 

 gear specifications. However, the fishery has open 

 access, and an overfishing threshold is not defined 

 by the current fishery management plan despite 

 concerns that the stock is overfished. 



Fhe Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Coun- 

 cil develops management measures tor squids un- 

 der provisions of the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

 Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. Manage- 

 ment targets for both species of squid were recently 

 reevaluated according to new research results on 

 life history parameters. Research continues to im- 

 prove our understanding of squid growth, matu- 

 rity, and reproductive dynamics to better assess ap- 

 propriate levels of sustainable fishing. Fhe United 

 States, which loined the Northwest Atlantic Fish- 

 eries Organization at the end of 1995, is actively 

 promoting efforts to implement more realistic 

 management goals for this species. Real-time man- 

 agement of both squid species is desirable to avoid 

 recruitment overfishing during periods of poor 

 recruitment and to maximize landings during pe- 

 riods of good recruitment. 



Surfclams and ocean quahogs have been man- 

 aged since 1977 and by individual transferable 

 quotas since I')9() (Amendment 8 to the fishery 

 management plan). In 1996, Amendment 9 

 changed overfishing definitions for both species 

 from a maximum sustainable \ield basis to a m;ixi- 

 miim spawning potential basis. Amendment 10, 

 currently under consideration, will specify man- 

 agement regulations for an ocean quahog fishery 

 off the coast of Maine. 



Bycatch and Multispecies Interactions 



Bycatch and associated discard of groundfish 

 in the Culf of Maine trawl fishery for northern 

 shrimp, which had earlier been considerable, has 

 been reduced following the adoption of a fish-ex- 

 cluding device, the "Nordmore Crate," as a con- 

 dition of participation in this fishery. Sea sampling 

 efforts continue to monitor this fishery. Bycatch 

 of goosefish and flounder in the sea scallop fish- 

 ery continues to be a concern as a source of fish- 

 ing mortality on these stocks as a whole, and par- 

 ticularly on very small fish. Scalloping, either by 

 dredges or otter trawls, is prdhibited in se\'eral large 



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