gilled in the webbing, then twisted the net up by rolling which 

 resulted in a reduced vertical profile and a webbing cleared of a 

 filamentous growth. This filamentous growth occurred on at least 

 75% of the net. Stalked ascidians and sponges were attached to and 

 growing on the net float lines; these sedentary species permit us 

 to age (approximate minimal estimate) the ghost nets. Several 

 species of finfish (sea raven, sculpin, wolf fish) were observed 

 taking shelter in folds of the net without becoming entangled. Two 

 species of starfish were observed feeding on the carcasses of 

 entrapped animals. 



Figure 4 shows a typical ghost net section 7 m long with a 

 vertical twist buoyed about 3 m above the ocean floor and a 

 horizontal stretched section of net with an entrapped lobster (6), 

 two groundfish fishing jigs (3), and a jagged hole 1-2 m. The 

 lobster was caught by the telson (tail) yet demonstrated an ability 

 to move 0.5 m in several directions giving it the ability to 

 scavenge for food while entrapped. Numerous starfish (1) and 

 rockcrabs (2) were attracted to the remains of animals dropping 

 from the net. One wolf fish (4) was video-taped escaping 

 entanglement from the net; this species also is attracted to 

 entangled fish and crustaceans in the net. The floats, frequently 

 fouled with stalked ascidians (5), of the floatline appear to hold 

 portions of the net up off the bottom, enabling the net to continue 

 fishing in a reduced capacity. 



An estimate of ghost gillnet abundance for Jeffreys Ledge and 

 Stellwagen Bank was made based on the density of ghost nets found 

 during the quantitative surveys in 1985 and 1986, the area surveyed 

 by manned submersibles and the total area of traditional gillnet 

 fishing grounds (Fig. 1). Ghost gillnets found in 1984, with the 

 assistance of commercial and recreational fishermen, were not 

 included in the assessment of ghost net abundance. The following 

 assumptions have been made prior to calculating net abundances: 



1. Traditional gillnet fishing grounds (Fig. 1) cover 

 approximately 64 nm^ of ocean floor. 



2. Area surveyed by submersibles in 1985 and 1986 equals 

 . 2 nm^ . 



3. During the 24 submersible transects conducted in 1985 and 

 1986 approximately 710 m of ghost gillnets were 

 documented (one 700 m gillnet from Stellwagen Bank and 

 one 10 m net from Jeffreys Ledge). 



4. One standard gillnet is 91 m long; generally 10 to 12 

 nets comprise one gillnet set. 



439 



