. . . Northeast Invertebrate Fisheries 



34 



Figure 4-2.— U.S. and Canadian 

 landings of Atlantic sea scallops 

 in the northeastern U.S. and 

 southeastern Canadian waters, 

 1940-90. 



30 



EZ3USA (XlCan.da 



1940 1945 1950 1956 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 



Northern Shrimp 



The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission (ASMFC) regulates the northern 

 shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Maine; regula- 

 tions control the season length (December 

 to May) and the type of gear. 



Northern shrimp are harvested exclu- 

 sively from the Gulf of Maine with small- 

 mesh trawls. Northern shrimp are at the 

 southern extent of their geographical 

 range in U.S. waters, and high abundance 

 of small shrimp is generally a result of low 

 water temperatures. 



The Gulf of Maine fishery for northern 



shrimp has undergone a boom and bust 

 cycle over the past 25 years. Landings 

 peaked at 12,800 t in 1969 but rapidly 

 declined during the 1 970's to a point where 

 no fishing was allowed in 1978, under reg- 

 ulations of ASMFC. The rapid decline in 

 abundance has been attributed both to 

 overfishing and to unusually high water 

 temperatures in the 1970's. Populations 

 have rebuilt somewhat from the very low 

 levels of the late 1970's. Recent landings 

 have stabilized at about 4,000 1, and fishing 

 mortality rates are now relatively low. 



ISSUES 



The sea scallop fishing mortality rate is far 

 higher than that which would produce the 

 maximum yield (i.e., growth overfishing). 

 Current meat-count regulations have little 

 control over total fishing mortality rates, 

 but do offer some protection for 3-year-old 

 scallops. Recent strong year-classes have 

 increased U.S. landings to record levels 

 (Fig. 4-2), but production has varied widely 

 because the fishery is highly dependent on 

 the incoming year-class each year. 



American lobster management is com- 

 plicated by the international trade in live 

 lobsters between Canada and the United 

 States. Conformity of imports with U.S. size 

 limits is a major political issue. Despite 

 growth in recent landings, the fishery is still 



almost completely supported by young 

 lobsters just meeting the minimum size, 

 and this is a source of serious concern for 

 the long-term health and stability of the 

 fishery. The relatively high lobster produc- 

 tion in recent years provides an opportu- 

 nity to increase the minimum legal lobster 

 size with minimum short-term catch loss. 

 This opportunity may not be available 

 later, and future increases in legal size 

 limits would be even more difficult to im- 

 plement. Overall increases in lobster land- 

 ings in most western Atlantic areas (a 

 record of 27,000 t in 1 990) imply that they 

 may be due more to favorable environmen- 

 tal conditions for young lobster survival 

 than to the effects of fishery regulation. 



