GULF OF MAINE - 



OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH STATUS 



R. S. Steneck and R. Langton 



The Gulf of Maine is famous for its rich fishing grounds, 

 that have remained productive for nearly 400 yeai;s yielding 

 groundf ishes, shellfish and lobsters. Today, catches in the Gulf 

 of Maine (and Georges Bank) comprise more than 80% of the total 

 landings (in value) for the New England states and of that more 

 than 90% are fishes and invertebrates associated with the sea 

 floor. Despite the history of commercially important bottom 

 dwelling organisms in the Gulf of Maine, limited data exist on 

 their distribution and abundance or how they interact, behave and 

 feed on the sea floor. In fact, our knowledge of the sea floor 

 itself is poor despite its importance to benthic communities as a 

 source of food, habitat and for nutrient regeneration. It is for 

 these reasons that the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) 

 has supported researchers from state and private universities, 

 federal, state and private laboratories for the past four years 

 in a multidisciplinary effort to address the benthic productivity 

 and resources of the Gulf of Maine. 



The Gulf of Maine is an oceanographically discrete body of 

 water bounded by land from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia and to the 

 seaward by Georges and Browns Banks. In the recent geologic past 

 the Gulf was scoured by glaciers which created a complex 

 diversity of habitats and environments. To study these 

 components we have identified five habitat-regions within the 

 Gulf. They are: 1) coastal regions comprising the turbid 

 nearshore water, 2) the central gulf, including the smaller banks 

 and ledges, 3) the slope water complex which contains basins and 

 the Northeast Channel, 4) the seaward border, which includes the 

 larger banks (Georges and Browns) and 5) the water column that 

 overlies the entire region and connects it to the western North 

 Atlantic Ocean. 



In addition to its topographical complexity the study of the 

 productivity of the Gulf of Maine involves aspects of biological, 

 geological, chemical and physical oceanography. Sampling 

 techniques for bottom dwelling animals and sediments have 

 traditionally involved trawls, drags and grabs which are time- 

 consuming and often give limited or dubious results. 

 Furthermore, the complex bottom and rocky outcrops make such 

 sampling techniques ineffective or impossible in many areas of 

 the gulf. 



Manned undersea technology presents a unique opportunity to 

 physically bring scientists to the benthos to study processes 

 related to productivity in the gulf. Data collection on the 



IX 



