Kuykendall et al.: A management strategy evaluation for Spisula solidissimo 
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Closure duration (years) 
Definition of a small clam (mm SL) 
Figure 7 
The proportion of change in performance metrics used to evaluate the effect of clo- 
sure location rule 1 on the Atlantic surfclam ( Spisula solidissima ) population and 
commercial fishery in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The effect is averaged for all simula- 
tions where a significant difference between present-day and alternative manage- 
ment exists (see Table 3 for the fraction of total simulations used to generate each 
bar value and Table 7 for summary statistics). Rule 1 mandates that the cell with 
the highest ratio of the number of small clams to the number of market-size clams 
be closed each year. Bars in the positive region represent proportional differences 
for simulations favoring alternative management. Proportional differences under 
present-day management represent simulations favoring present-day management 
and are represented as negative values for clarity. The metric of landings per unit of 
effort (LPUE) is the number of bushels per hour, and definitions of a small clam are 
given as shell length (SL) in millimeters. 
