Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 39 



12-mile contiguous zone, the Magnuson Fishery 

 Conservation and Management Act of 1976 was 

 passed to extend U.S. management jurisdiction out 

 to 200 nautical miles. This action reduced the level 

 of foreign fishing in the Gulf of Maine, and 

 revitalized both Massachusetts and U.S. fisheries 

 (Maclssac and Hotz, 1982). 



b. Present Day Fishing in the 

 Stellwagen Bank Area 



An extensive and active commercial fishery 

 continues currently throughout the southwestern 

 Gulf of Maine and surroimding waters. Stellwagen 

 Bank is one of several areas of concentrated effort, 

 in addition to Jeffreys Ledge, Cashes Ledge, Tilhes 

 Bank, Brown Bank, and the more expansive 

 Georges Bank. Over 280 commercial vessels 

 actively fished on Stellwagen Bank in 1990 (C. 

 Kellogg, pers. comm., June 1990). 



Most fish species in the Stellwagen Bank area are 

 taken on a year-roimd basis; however, seasonal 

 abundance of several species results in peak fishing 

 activity periods for those species. Peak fishing 

 intervals in the Stellwagen Bank area occur for the 

 following regulated species (^fMFS/NEFC, 1990): 



January through March April through June 



Winter flounder 

 Atlantic herring 

 Northern shrimp 



Winter flounder 

 Redfish 



American plaice 

 Witch flounder 

 Atlantic cod 



July through September October through Dec. 



Bluefin tuna 

 Red hake 

 Summer flounder 

 Striped bass 

 Redfish 



American plaice 

 Witch flounder 

 Bluefish 



Silver hake 

 Red hake 

 Pollack 



Atlantic mackerel 

 Butterfish 

 White hake 

 Winter flounder 

 Atlantic herring 

 American lobster 

 Sea scallop 



Bank area have been grouped into four principal 

 categories: groundfish, pelagics, other fmfish, and 

 invertebrates (NMFS/NFC, 1988). Landings data 

 (Table 3) are recorded within "Statistical Area 514" 

 as developed by NMFS (Figure 6). 



Groundflsh Species 



Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua 

 Haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefmus 

 Redfish (Ocean Perch, Rosefish), Sebastes spp. 

 Silver Hake (Whiting), Merluccius bilinearis 

 Red Hake (Squirrel Hake), Urophvcis chuss 

 Pollack, PoUachius virens 



Yellowtail Flounder, Pleuronectes ferrugineus 

 Summer Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus 

 American Plaice (Dab), Hippoglossoides 



platessoides 

 Witch Flounder, Glvptocephalus cvnoglossus 

 Winter Flounder, Pleuronectes americanus 

 Scup (Porgy). Stenotomus chrysops 

 Ocean Pout (Muttonfishl Macrozoarces americanus 

 White Hake, Urophvcis tenuis 

 Cusk, Brosme 



Atlantic Wolffish, Anarhichas lupus 

 Fourspot Flounder, Paralichthys oblongus 

 Windowpane Flounder (Sand Dab), Scophthalmus 



aquosus 

 Greenland (Atlantic) Halibut, Reinhardtius 



hippoglossoides 

 King Whiting (Kingfish), Menticirrhus saxatihs 

 Sculpins, Mvoxocephalus octodecimspinosus 

 Sea Sturgeon. Acipenser sturio 

 Tautog (Blackfish), Tautoga onitis 

 Sjmd Eel (Sand Lance), Ammodvtes americanus 

 American Eel, Anguilla rostrata 

 Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata 



Pelagic Fish 



Atlantic Herring, Clupea harengus 

 Atlantic Mackerel, Scomber scombrus 

 Butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus 

 Bluefish (Snapper). Pomatomus saltatrix 

 Deep Sea Angler, Ceratias holboUi 

 Menhaden (Pogy), Brevoortia tyrannus 

 Bluefm Tuna Thunnus thvnnus 

 Capelin, Mallotus villosus 



Fish species commercially taken in the Stellwagen 



