1998 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Spawning stock 



biomass 



(X 1,000 t) 



100 - 



60 

 40 

 20 



60 



40 



20 







25 - 

 20 - 

 15 - 

 10 - 

 5 - 

 - 



Exploitation 



Cod 



_j I I I I I I I I i_ 



Exploitation 



Haddock 



Yellowtail flounder 



Winter flounder 



Exploitation 

 rate 



04 

 03 

 02 

 1 

 00 



- 10 



- 08 



- 06 



- 04 



- 02 



- GO 



Figure 8 



Spawning stock biomass (x 

 I.OOOt) and exploitation rate 

 for four Georges Bank 

 groundfish stocks, 1973-98. 



after 1976, but b\' the carl\- 19,S0's they had peaked 

 and began to decline. By the mid 1980s, com- 

 mercial catch rates hati dropped by half, as had 

 the overall abimd.iiice of the resource. The col- 

 lapse of the Georges Bank haddock stock, and then 

 Georges Bank and Southern New England yellow- 

 tail flounder resources, resulted in an almost com- 

 plete reliance by the fishery on cod (Figure 7). 



Reduced landings of the traditional groundfish 

 stocks, combined with strong market demand for 

 fish, prompted the development of fisheries for 

 alternative species such as squids, spiny dogfish, 

 skates, and goosefish (monkfish) (Figure 7). Ex- 

 ploitation rates of most groundfish resources rose 

 significantly, and spawning stock biomasses de- 

 clined (Figures 8-10). 



The New England Fishery Management 

 Council initiallv retained the quota-based fishery 

 management system for groundfish it inherited 

 from the earlier management schemes adopted by 

 ICNAF, but eventually abandoned direct controls 

 on fishing mortality in 1982 in favor of regula- 

 tions based primarily on minimum mesh and fish 

 sizes and other indirect fishery controls. 



In .iddition to increases in domestic fishing 

 effort, delimitation of the maritime boundary be- 

 tween the United States and Canada in 1 98S ended 

 fishing by New England fleets on the eastern por- 

 tion of Georges Bank and on the Scotian Shelf off 

 Canada and resulted in even greater pressure on 

 stocks in U.S. waters. 



Exploitation rates of groundfish reached their 

 highest levels in the early 1990's, as stock biom- 

 asses fell, in many cases, to record lows (Figures 

 8-10). Indirect controls had not resulted in suffi- 

 cient conservation of the resources, and environ- 

 mental groups sued the U.S. Department of Com- 

 merce over this failure. What emerged was a series 

 of fishery management plan amendments, first 

 implemented in 1994, that reduced days at sea by 

 all fleet sectors to 50% of the pre- 1 994 levels. Ad- 

 ditionally, these amendments closed over 5,000 

 square nautical miles ot prime grouiidlishing ar- 

 eas (Figure 1 ), increased minimum net mesh sizes, 

 implemented a moratorium on vessel entrants, and 

 required mandatory vessel and dealer reporting of 

 catches. The new regulations also implemented trip 

 limits to reduce catches of depleted species and 

 instituted "target" total allowable catches (TAC's) 

 to serve as a guide t<i measure the effectiveness of 

 conservation measures. Reacting to the implemen- 

 tation of direct controls on fishing effort. Con- 

 gress instituted a Inn'oiil of fishing effort which 

 resulted in .i fleet reduction of 79 groundfishing 

 vessels. 



As a result of management measures enacted 

 since 1994, exploitation rates, particularly on 



78 



