191 
NOAA 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
Fishery Bulletin 
ft* established 1881 -<?. 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U.S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Spring feeding of Atlantic wolffish {Anarhichas 
lupus ) on Stellwagen Bank, Massachusetts 
Elizabeth A. Fairchild 1 
Shelly Tallack 2 
Scott P. Elzey 3 
Michael P. Armstrong 3 
Email address for the contact author: elizabeth.fairchild@unh.edu 
Abstract — Full life history informa- 
tion is lacking for Atlantic wolffish 
(Anarhichas lupus), a species of con- 
cern in U.S. waters. Scientific stud- 
ies indicate that Atlantic wolffish 
are found in low densities — either 
solitary or, during spawning season, 
paired. Groundfish surveys show 
wolffish abundance in U.S. waters 
is highest in the Gulf of Maine- 
Georges Bank region, especially in 
the southwestern portion at depths 
of 80-120 m. Contrary to these data, 
commercial fishermen have reported, 
and we have validated, that high 
concentrations of Atlantic wolffish 
are found in specific shallow loca- 
tions and at specific times on the 
Stellwagen Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary (SBNMS) in Massachu- 
setts Bay. From 53 tows conducted 
during May-June 2011, 395 Atlantic 
wolffish were captured on the SB- 
NMS. Average daily catch per unit 
of effort ranged from 0.6 to 37.8 fish 
h -1 in an area characterized by shal- 
low (depths: 27-46 m), cold (5-7°C) 
water, and a sand and gravel sub- 
strate. At this site, wolffish were 
mature (mean age: 20 years; range: 
7-33 years) and in prespawning con- 
dition, both sexes were equally rep- 
resented, and 99% of the fish were 
feeding actively. Total mortality (Z) 
estimated from the age frequency 
was 0.35. Considering the observed 
wolffish abundance and their feeding 
intensity, it appears that this area of 
the SBNMS is a foraging area used 
collectively by a large group of wolf- 
fish during May-June. 
Manuscript submitted 8 October 2013. 
Manuscript accepted 23 February 2015. 
Fish. Bull. 113:191-201 (2015). 
doi: 10.7755/FB. 113.2.7 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
1 Department of Biological Sciences 
University of New Hampshire 
38 Academic Way 
Durham, New Hampshire 03824 
2 Gulf of Maine Research Institute 
350 Commercial Street 
Portland, Maine 04101 
3 Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries 
30 Emerson Avenue 
Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930 
Atlantic wolffish ( Anarhichas lupus), 
1 of 3 wolffish species found in the 
northwest Atlantic, is classified as a 
data-poor species (NDPSWG1) and is 
listed as a species of concern under 
the Endangered Species Act. Com- 
plete life history information, in- 
cluding biology, migration patterns, 
and seasonal movements, is lacking 
for Atlantic wolffish populations, es- 
pecially in U.S. waters (NDPSWG 1 , 
Keith 2 ). There has not been much of 
1 NDPSWG (Northeast Data Poor Stocks 
Working Group). 2009. The Northeast 
Data Poor Stocks Working Group report, 
December 8-12, 2008 meeting. Part A: 
Skate species complex, deep sea red 
crab, Atlantic wolffish, scup, and black 
sea bass. Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. 
Ref. Doc. 09-02, 496 p. [Available from 
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/ 
crd/.] 
2 Keith, C. 2006. Status of fishery re- 
sources off the northeastern US: Atlantic 
wolffish, 6 p. Resource Evaluation and 
Assessment Division, Northeast Fish. 
Sci. Cent., Woods Hole, MA. [Avail- 
able from http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/ 
spsyn/og/wolf/.] 
a directed fishery for Atlantic wolf- 
fish; it is thought that they are typi- 
cally solitary fish or, at most, paired 
during the spawning season (Scott 
and Scott, 1988; Le Francois et al., 
2010), and it has been challeng- 
ing to obtain large sample sizes for 
thorough biological analyses. To con- 
found matters, these demersal fishes 
are often associated with complex 
habitat, such as rocky burrows and 
crevices (Keats et al., 1985), making 
them difficult to survey with trawl 
gear. 
Atlantic wolffish range from 
Greenland to Cape Cod, occasionally 
as far south as New Jersey (Roun- 
tree, 2002; Keats et al., 1986), and 
inhabit waters from 5 to 240 m de- 
pending on fish size, age, and season 
(Nelson and Ross, 1992). According to 
trawl surveys in U.S. waters, abun- 
dance south of Canada is highest 
(<1.5 kg [3.3 lb]/tow) in the Gulf of 
Maine-Georges Bank (GOM-GB) re- 
gion, especially in the southwestern 
portion at depths of 80-120 m (AW- 
