Northeast Demersal Fisheries 



Unit 



1 



EMORY D ANDERSON 



RALPH K MAYO 



KATHERINE SOSEBEE 



MARKTERCEIRO 



SUSAN E WIGLEY 



NMFS Northeast Fisheries 

 Science Center 



Woods Hole 

 Massachusetts 



INTRODUCTION 



Northeast dcmcrs.il (groundfish) fisheries in- 

 clude about 33 species and stocks, primarily in 

 New England waters, but also oft the Mid-Atlan- 

 tic states. In New England, the groundhsh com- 

 plex is dominated by members ot the cod family 

 (cod, haddock, hakes, and pollock), flouitders, 

 goosefish, dogfish sharks, and skates. The Mid- 

 Atlantic groundfish fisheries are primarily for sum- 

 mer flounder, scup, goosefish, and black sea bass. 



Northeast groundfish fishermen employ fish- 

 ing gears such as otter trawls, gillnets, traps, and 

 set lines. Otter ttawling is the predominant fish- 

 ing method for groundfish throughout the region, 

 with 1,229 registered otter trawl vessels in the 

 Northeast region in 1996. Gillnets contribute a 

 substantial ptoportion of the catch, particularly 

 in the Gulf of Maine, with 472 gillnet vessels reg- 

 istered in 1996. Many of the vessels participating 

 in the gtoundfish fisheries switch gears on a sea- 



sonal basis. Recent average (1995-97) landings 

 (U.S., Canadian, and recreational) of mixed 

 groundfish in the Northeast region were about 

 160,000 metric tons (t) CEible 1-1 ), with the 1997 

 total being 156,700 t, less than one-half of the 

 long-term potential yield. 



Groundfish resources in the Northeast occur 

 in mixed-species aggregations, resulting in signifi- 

 cant bycatch interactions among fisheries directed 

 to particular target species or species groups. Man- 

 agement is complex because of these interactions, 

 fhis complexity is reflected, for example, in the 

 use of different mesh, gear, minimum landing size, 

 and seasonal closure regulations set by the various 

 management bodies in the region (e.g. New En- 

 gland Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), 

 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

 (MAFMC), Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission (ASMFC]), individual states, and the Ca- 

 nadian government). New England groundfish ( 1 3 

 species) are managed primarily under the North- 



Atlantic cod. 



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