Part
2, Sec. 2C1
Human Activities- Commercial Fishing
1.
Commercial Fishing
a.
Regional History
Historically,
the most economically important human activity directly dependent
on the resources of the entire Gulf of Maine, including Stellwagen
Bank, has been commercial fishing. The yield from groundfish,
invertebrate, and pelagic fisheries has been the most important
commercial resource available throughout the New England region
since the time of early Colonists. This traditional activity
continues today as an important source of revenue to the New
England coastal states.
Three
hundred years ago, catch was abundant from local coastal waters;
there was no need to venture to distant offshore banks. Handlines
employed off of small skiffs and sail craft yielded necessary
daily catches; modest weirs or traps placed at river mouths
or harbors captured plentiful amounts of migratory fish; and
shellfish were readily available from intertidal areas.
Colonization
of the northeast seaboard was itself spurred by the discovery
in 1497 by explorer John Cabot of vast codfish grounds in the
northwest Atlantic. Early settlements in Maine and New Hampshire
established the first fish curing stations before the arrival
of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. It was cod
fishing that brought the first settlers to Gloucester, Marblehead,
Salem, Weymouth, and Scituate, Massachusetts (McFarland, 1911).
In the decade between 1765 and 1775, the business of cod fishing
actively involved 20 towns, 605 vessels, 1,475 fishermen, and
9,600 others in curing, packaging, and shipping (McFarland,
1911).
The
country's growth increased pressure to extend fishing efforts
to offshore locations, and necessary developments occurred in
commercial gear and methodology. The technology of fishing gear
advanced rapidly, starting at the turn of the century with the
mechanization of equipment. Primitive nets evolved into purse
seines, otter trawls, gill nets and trap and pound nets. The
major advance in the fishing industry during this time was the
development and use of diesel-propelled fishing vessels, which
replaced steam-driven and sail craft. Fishing gear itself also
became mechanized, greatly enhancing the success of various
fisheries. With the introduction of electronic equipment, such
as ship-to-shore telephones, loran plotters, direction finders,
depth indicators and recorders, "fish finders", radar, and automatic
steering devices during the 1940's, both the safety of navigation
and the productivity of fishing activities were improved. Finally,
the introduction of synthetic fibers now used in most fishing
gear has improved fishing methods, as well as the equipment.
Commercial
fishing changed at the turn of the century, with the introduction
of the steam engine and mechanized otter trawl gear. The effect
of these innovations was an increase in fresh fish landings
from shorter trips. As the demand for fish grew, Boston became
the primary fishing port, because of its position as the New
England marketing and transportation center. Gloucester businesses,
suffering from both the decreased demand and less expensive
imports from Norway, Canada, and Iceland, nonetheless survived
by improving fish processing techniques (notably "quick-freeze"
methods), and shipping. Improved processing and transportation
permitted the introduction of new species to both fresh and
frozen fish markets in the East and the Midwest.
Large
foreign trawlers began fishing on Georges Bank in 1961, primarily
on non-traditional fish species, such as hake, herring, and
squid. By 1973, approximately 300 vessels from 16 countries
were also targeting more traditional domestic species, notably
haddock, and New England fisheries began to feel the pressure.
Because there was no effective management of fisheries outside
the existing U.S. 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 (MacIssac
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 surrounding waters.
Stellwagen Bank is one of several areas of concentrated effort,
in addition to Jeffreys Ledge, Cashes Ledge, Tillies 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-round
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 (NMFS/NEFC, 1990):
January
through March
Winter flounder
Atlantic herring
Northern shrimp
April
through June
Winter flounder
Redfish
American plaice
Witch flounder
Atlantic
cod
July
through September
Bluefin tuna
Red hake
Summer flounder
Striped bass
Redfish
American plaice
Witch flounder
Bluefish
October
through Dec.
Silver hake
Red hake
Pollock
Atlantic mackerel
Butterfish
White hake
Winter flounder
Atlantic herring
American lobster
Sea scallop
Fish
species commercially taken in the Stellwagen Bank area have
been grouped into four principal categories: groundfish, pelagics,
other finfish, and invertebrates (NMFS/NFC, 1988). Landings
data (Table 3) are recorded within "Statistical Area 514" as
developed by NMFS (Figure 6).
TABLE
3: Commercial Fisheries Landings Data from Statistical Area
514 (NMFS 1989, 1991)
1988 1989 1990
Groundfish
Species
Live
Pounds Landed 10,673,447 8,762,550 11,674,220
Pounds Sold 9,946,977 8,055,646 10,848,543
Value (Gutted) $5,109,987 4,953,756
5,979,134
Pelagic
Species
Live
Pounds Landed 2,510,822 2,094,816 3,121,707
Pounds Sold 2,270,782 1,893,510
2,845,696
Value (Gutted) $8,850,300 9,294,267
7964,716
Invertebrates
Live
Pounds Landed 521,062 410,715 2,340,251
Pounds Sold 104,308 107,719 553,482
Value (Gutted) $327,221 257,203
555,582
Other
Finfish
Live
Pounds Landed 4,799,670 5,267,744 9,380,835
Pounds Sold 3,762,228 4,395,288
7,976,452
Value (Gutted) $361,080 429,393
821,988
Totals
Live
Pounds Landed 18,505,001 16,535,825 26,517,013
Pounds Sold 16,084,295 14,452,163 22,517,173
Value (Gutted) $14,648,498 14,933,619 15,321,420
Groundfish
Species
Atlantic
Cod, Gadus morhua
Haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus
Redfish (Ocean Perch, Rosefish), Sebastes spp.
Silver Hake (Whiting), Merluccius bilinearis
Red Hake (Squirrel Hake), Urophycis chuss
Pollock, Pollachius virens
Yellowtail Flounder, Pleuronectes ferrugineus
Summer Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus
American Plaice (Dab), Hippoglossoides platessoides
Witch Flounder, Glyptocephalus cynoglossus
Winter Flounder, Pleuronectes americanus
Scup (Porgy), Stenotomus chrysops
Ocean Pout (Muttonfish), Macrozoarces americanus
White Hake, Urophycis 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 saxatilis
Sculpins, Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus
Sea Sturgeon, Acipenser sturio
Tautog (Blackfish), Tautoga onitis
Sand Eel (Sand Lance), Ammodytes 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 holbolli
Menhaden (Pogy), Brevoortia tyrannus
Bluefin Tuna Thunnus thynnus
Capelin, Mallotus villosus
Other
Finfish
American
Shad, Alosa sapidissima
Striped Bass (Rockfish), Morone saxatilis
Spiny Dogfish, Squalus acanthias
Skates, Rajidae spp.
Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus
Atlantic Silverside (Capelin), Menidia
Invertebrates
Short-Finned
Squid, Illex illecebrosus
Long-Finned Squid, Loligo pealei
American Lobster, Homarus americanus
Northern Shrimp (Pink Shrimp), Pandalus borealis
Surf Clam, Spisula solidissima
Ocean Quahog, Artica islandica
Sea Scallop, Placopecten magellanicus
In
its annual assessment of Northeastern fishery stocks, NMFS makes
a general analysis of species/stocks, by weighing each species
or stock's "stock level" against its "exploitation rate." Stock
levels are categorized as "low", "medium", or "high." These
are weighed against categories of exploitation rates, classified
as "unknown", "protected", "not exploited", "under-exploited",
"moderately-exploited", "fully-exploited", and "over-exploited."
Although exploitation levels of individual species vary, the
overall exploitation level for commercial species in the Stellwagen
Bank/Gulf of Maine area is high. NMFS has assessed the 1990
overall status of stocks for the following species: (NOAA, 1986)
Under-exploited:
Red Hake, Mackerel, Butterfish, Spiny Dogfish, Skates, Short-finned
Squid, Long-finned Squid
Fully-exploited:
Silver Hake, Black Sea Bass, White Hake, Atlantic Herring, Bluefish,
AmericanLobster, Northern Shrimp, Surf Clam, Ocean Pout, Windowpane
Flounder, Ocean Quahog (in some areas)
Over-exploited:
Atlantic Cod, Haddock, Redfish, Pollock, Yellowtail Flounder,
Summer Flounder, Witch Flounder, Winter Flounder, American Plaice,
Scup, Wolffish, Sea Scallop
Protected:
Striped Bass
Unknown:
Cusk
c.
Fishing Gear
Depending
on the target fishery, several types of gear traditionally have
been employed, and are currently used in commercial fishing
operations throughout the Gulf of Maine. "Mobile" or "fixed"
fishing gear are classified by the nature of their catching
properties. Specific gear types used in the Gulf of Maine, and
around Stellwagen Bank are desscribed below:
1)
Mobile Gear
Otter
Trawls are the most commonly-used trawl in New England,
accounting for more than 50% of the gear types used at Stellwagen
Bank. (C. Kellogg, NEFMC, pers. comm., 1990.) Otter trawls are
conical nets towed along the seabed to catch bottom-dwelling
fish, such as Atlantic cod, haddock, pollack, redfish, flounder,
hakes, and other groundfish species. When fully constructed
and rigged, the otter trawl takes on the shape of a funnel when
towed along the ocean bottom. Floats and weights are used to
keep the mouth of the net open while in motion, further aided
by otterboards (or trawl doors), pulling in different directions
in reaction to the water's resistance.
Scottish
Seines are also conical nets used in combination with long
ropes to herd bottom-dwelling fish species into the net along
the seabed.
Purse
Seines are encircling nets used to catch pelagic fish species
that live or grow at or near the ocean's surface. Included in
this group of fisheries are Atlantic mackerel and bluefin tuna.
Scallop
Dredges are metal-framed devices used primarily for harvesting
shellfish species from the seabed surface. Hydraulic or jet
dredges are specifically designed to wash out scallops resting
on the ocean floor.
Clam
Dredges are essentially the same device as scallop dredges;
however, the metal-framed apparatus is specifically designed
to harvest shellfish from within the seabed.
2)
Fixed Gear
Hook
and Line are hand-held gear used for catching either groundfish
or tuna.
Tub
Trawls also target groundfish, using multiple hooks baited
with natural or artificial lures and attached to a long line.
Trawls may be anchored or permitted to drift at any level in
the water.
Fish
Traps/Lobster Traps are stationary gear used to harvest
groundfish species, or lobsters and crabs. Traps are rigid in
construction, and vary in design and dimension.
Sink
Gillnets are anchored stationary nets commonly used for
catching groundfish. Gillnets may be generally described as
vertical "walls" of fiber netting, which capture and hold individual
fishes in their meshes. Mesh size is designed for specific sizes
of targeted fish species. Depending on the target species, gillnets
may be suspended at the water's surface, in midwater, or close
to the bottom by controlling the number and size of floats and
weights. At Stellwagen Bank, sink gillnets are used for a variety
of mid-water fisheries.
Harpoons
in the Southern New England fishery are hand-thrown, and used
in catching large fish species, such as bluefin tuna.
d.
Fisheries Management
Most
commercial and recreational fishing activities in the Stellwagen
Bank area are regulated by fishery management plans (FMPs) developed
by Fishery Management Councils. FMPs recognize the inseparable
association between fishery resources and the commercial/recreational
interests dependent upon them. The goal of FMPs is to preserve
the fishery resource, through implemen-
tation
of a management scheme which provides operational flexibility,
encourages efficiency and lessens regulatory mechanisms.
Depending
upon the particular target species, Stellwagen Bank fisheries
are managed by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC),
and/or the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC),
pursuant to the provisions of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1801) (FCMA). Section 303
of the FCMA requires that FMPs contain conservation and management
measures; assessment of present condition of the fishery and
its maximum sustainable yields; the capacity and extent of fishing
vessel harvest of the fishery; and information on the significance
of the habitat of the fishery. Owing to the seasonal variability
of specific species, the two Fishery Management Councils make
recommendations to each other when additional information is
required.
Once
an FMP is approved by the Secretary of Commerce, implementation
of its provisions is the responsibility of the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and an
FMP Technical Monitoring Group.
Approved
fishery management plans developed by the New England Fishery
Management Council currently exist for the following species:
Atlantic Salmon Fishery (August 1988); Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery (most recently amended August 1989); American Lobster
Fishery (most recently amended July 1989); and the Northeast
Multispecies Fishery (most recently amended 1990, and presently
being updated to incorporate silver hake, red hake, and ocean
pout).
The
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan establishes the
following:
•
minimum size regulations for several major commercial species
(including but not limited to): Atlantic cod, haddock, pollack,
witch flounder, yellowtail flounder, American plaice, and winter
lounder.
•
minimum size regulations for recreationally-caught haddock and
Atlantic cod.
•
closure of spawning areas over Georges Bank and southern New
England.
•
major increase in the mesh size of mobile trawl gear.
•
marking requirement for gillnet gear.
In
response to continuing documentation of declines in groundfish
populations, a lawsuit was filed in mid-1991 by the Conservation
Law Foundation and the Massachusetts Audubon Society, charging
NMFS with failure to prevent overfishing on New England groundfish
stocks, including haddock, cod, and flounder. Pursuant to an
out-of-court settlement reached in August 1991, the New England
Fishery Management Council is afforded the opportunity to draft
by March 1, 1992 a new multi-species FMP designed to rebuild
the groundfish stocks. The Council may also present a final
groundfish stock rebuilding program to the Secretary of Commerce
by September 1, 1992. Failure to meet these court-established
deadlines, however, will require the Secretary of Commerce,
through NMFS, to put into place its own groundfish stock rebuilding
program by not later than November 1, 1992.
The
presently over-fished condition of groundfish species throughout
the Gulf of Maine is indicated in part by the following statistics
from the NEFMC:
(NEFMC,
October 1991)
GroundfishStock/%
Removed/Year by Fishing/% Required for Recovery
Gulf
of Maine Cod 56% 30%
Georges
Bank Cod 43% 27%
So.
New England Yellowtail 75% 35%
Georges
Bank Yellowtail 52% 40%
The
NEFMC also has developed the FMPs for scallops and lobster,
which establish:
•
overall landing amounts allotted for the species;
•
fishing practices to be used for these fisheries; and
•
effort limits allotted to the fishery.
Currently,
the NEFMC is developing an updated FMP for Atlantic herring
in coordination with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC); and has requested the lead role in developing a fishery
management plan for the Arctic surf (or Stimpson) clam, for
which commercial exploitation has recently been initiated in
the Stellwagen Bank area. (P. Fiorelli, NEFMC, pers. comm.,
May 1990).
The
Northern shrimp FMP was developed by the Atlantic States Fishery
Management Commission (ASFMC). The ASMFC is additionally responsible
for striped bass and bluefish fisheries (the plan for the latter
species is developed in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council).
The
Mid-Atlantic FMC is charged with sole responsibility for management
plans on summer flounder, butterfish, short and long-finned
squid, surf clam, ocean quahog and mackerel.
Commercial
bluefin tuna fishing, representing approximately 50% of the
economic value of all fisheries in the Stellwagen Bank area,
is currently regulated under the International Commission for
the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), as implemented via
the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975. Quotas for bluefin
tuna are determined by ICCAT; since 1983, the U.S. quota has
remained constant at 1,529 short tons (st). NMFS allocates this
quota by categories assigned to the four gear types employed
in this fishery: hand-line, rod and reel, harpoon, and purse
seine net. (The species also is caught incidentally by longline
vessels.)
The
majority of the total U.S. Atlantic bluefin tuna catch is landed
in Massachusetts. Currently, there are approximately 10,000
individuals licensed in Massachusetts to participate in this
fishery. In addition to Stellwagen Bank, bluefin tuna also are
fished at Jeffreys Ledge, Cape Cod Bay, east of Chatham, and
southwest of Martha's Vineyard Island (Table 4).
Spawning
stocks for this species are considered depleted (B. Chase, 1991).
Recently, management of the U.S. Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery
was included in reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation
and Management Act, to enhance NMFS' ability to provide improved
species Management.
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