FEATURE ARTICLE 2 

 NEW ENGLAND GROUNDFISH 



Georges Bank groiindfish stocks, have declined to 

 levels not seen in several decades (Figure 8). Mod- 

 est increases in spawning stock hiomass tor Georges 

 Bank cod and haddock have occurred. Georges 

 Bank yellowtaii flounder biomass has rebounded 

 the fastest to levels not seen since the early 1970's. 

 Continued rebtiilding of these stocks is contin- 

 gent on improved recruitment, which has occurred 

 for Georges Bank yellowtaii flounder and, appar- 

 ently, in 1998 for haddock, but continues to be 

 poor for most other groundfish stocks. 



In the Gulf of Maine, exploitation rates have 

 remained high, while spawning biomasses of cod, 

 American plaice, and white hake have declined to 

 near record lows (Figure 9). The lack of success in 

 reducing exploitation tor Gull ot Maine ground- 

 fish is due to several factors. Overall, groundfish 

 effort has declined substantially; however, the large 

 closed areas on Georges Bank (Figure 2), combined 

 with days-at-sea regulations, have resulted in dis- 

 placement ot fishing ettort to inshore areas and a 

 concentrations ot trawl, gillnet and hook activity 

 in the nearshore tlshing grounds ot the Cult ot 

 Maine. Recruitment to most major groundfish 

 stocks in the Gulf ot Maine region has been be- 

 low average in recent years. 



Exploitation rates tor Southern New F^ngland 

 flatfishes (winter and yellowtaii floimder) have de- 

 clined substantially since 1992 (Figure 10). The 

 spawning biomass for winter flounder has in- 

 creased more than twofold over the time series low 

 observed in 1994. Biomass ot yellowtaii flounder, 

 although increasing, is well below levels necessary 

 to sustain a significant fishery (Figure 10). 



Overall, the New Fjigland groundfish resource 

 is beginning to increase in abundance (Figure 6), 

 and exploitation rates for many ot the key stocks 

 are at levels which should allow stock rebuilding. 

 Recruitment has been generally poor in recent 

 years, and exploitation ot some stocks (e.g. in the 

 Gulf of Maine) remains excessive. 



PROSPECTS FOR THE 

 RESOURCE AND FISHERY 



Groundfish abimdance and landings from the 

 offshore New F^ngland region have varied consid- 

 erably over the past 100 years, primarily due to 

 their exploitation history. Dramatic reductions in 



Spawning stock 



biomass 



(X 1.000 tl 



30 - 



25 - 



20 - 



15 - 



10 - 



5 - 



- 



60 - 

 50 - 

 40 - 

 30 - 

 20 - 

 10 - 

 - 



14 

 12 

 10 

 8 

 6 

 4 

 2 

 



Cod 



Plaice 



Hake 

 I I i_ 



Year 



most offshore stocks occurred due to the distant- 

 water fleets, who pulse-tlshed the wide array of 

 available species. After elimination of the foreign 

 fleets, some stocks rebounded to high levels, only 

 to be overfished again by domestic fleets in the 



Evploitalion 



Figure 9 



Spawning stock biomass {x 

 1,000 1) and exploitation rate 

 for four Gulf of Maine 

 groundfish stocks, 1980-98. 



7 9 



