Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 23 



Group I: Residents Found in All Seasons 



Little Seasonal 

 Movement (la) 

 Little skate 

 Winter skate 

 American sand lance 

 Sea raven 

 Longhorn sculpin 

 Windowpane flounder 

 Yellowtail flounder 

 Winter flounder 

 Sea scallop 



Seasonal Shifts (lb) 

 Spiny dogfish 

 Atlantic herring 

 Goosefish 

 Atlantic cod 

 Haddock 

 Ocean pout 

 American lobster 



Group 1 species are typically found in the overall 

 Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank area throughout the 

 year. Within this group, there are some species 

 (lb) which demonstrate seasonal shifts within the 

 general area, but not away from the Georges Bank 

 vicinity. 



Group 2: Seasonal Migrants Found Only in Warm 

 or in Cold Months 



Common in 

 Cold Months (lb) 

 Pollack 

 American plaice 



Common in 

 Warm Months (23) 

 Silver hake 

 Red hake 

 White hake 

 Butterfish 

 Fourspot flounder 

 Shortfin squid 

 Longfin squid 



Group 2 fishes are seasonal visitors; they are 

 consistently found in the Gulf of Maine-Georges 

 Bank area during one or two seasons. Those 

 species Usted as common in warm months (2a) 

 typically move further offshore or south when 

 temperatures cool; those species listed as common 

 in cold months typically demonstrate opposite 

 behavior and move north or east into deeper waters 

 in the summer. 



Group 3: Mid-Atlantic Species That Migrate to the 

 Georges Bank - Gulf of Maine During the Warm 

 Season 



Group 3 species are common to the Mid-Atlantic 

 area, and migrate north to the Gulf of Maine- 

 Georges Bank area during late summer to early 

 autumn, usually in low numbers (Azarovitz and 

 Grosslein, 1982). 



Group 4: Cold Water Species Common in the Gulf 

 of Maine/Deep Water Areas, But Rare on Georges 

 Bank 



Smooth skate 



Thorny skate 



Redfish 



Cusk 



Witch flounder 



Species Usted in Group 4 are common to deeper 

 waters of the Gulf of Maine, or those surrounding 

 Georges Bank. They are not normally abundant on 

 Bank areas, but do visit in the cold season. 



Spawning areas for several fish species occur 

 generally within the southwestern Gulf of Maine, 

 including those for pollack, Atlantic cod, herring 

 and squid. There is also particularly strong 

 evidence that Stellwagen Bank provides spawning 

 habitat for the American sand lance (Ammodvtes 

 americanus), a primary forage species for humpback 

 and fin whales. (Sherman, etal., 1981; Sherman, et 

 al., 1984; Richards, 1965). 



Many of the identified Gulf of Maine species have 

 been traditionally important commercially, and 

 continue to provide an important economic resource 

 to the New England region. Commercially 

 important species include: 



Summer floimder 

 Bluefish 



Scup 

 Bluefin Tuna 



Common Name 



American plaice 



(sand dab) 

 American lobster 

 American shad 

 Atlantic herring 

 Atlantic mackerel 

 Atlantic wolffish 

 Atlantic cod 

 Black sea bass 

 Bluefin tima 

 Bluefish (snapper) 



Scientific Name 



Hi ppoglossoides 



platessoides 

 Homarus americanus 

 Alosa sapidissima 

 Clupea harengus 

 Scomber scombrus 

 Anarhichas lupus 

 Gadus morhua 

 Centropristis striata 

 Thunnus thynnus 

 Pomatomus saltatrix 



