Logbook data from commercial fisheries are a vital component in the machinery of management, including tracking the volume of catches and allocating catch spatially. At the same time, logbooks can provide a unique window into the ecological and sociological conditions in marine fisheries, where fishermen interact with marine species and environments frequently and broadly. Traditional logbooks, however, often are not sufficiently standardized (when personal logs), or lack the detail (when regulatory documents) required to adequately understand fisheries ecosystems. The Study Fleet program, operated by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch, was developed to address these shortfalls by engaging members of the fishing industry in collecting high-resolution catch, effort, and environmental data using electronic logbooks. Since its inception, the Study Fleet has expanded from a small project focused on collecting detailed catch information from the New England multispecies groundfish fishery to a program with a wider scope encompassing a variety of fisheries, gears, and environmental parameters from North Carolina to Maine U.S. Over the years, a number of lessons have been learned about recruiting and supporting industry partners, managing the data, evolving technical specifications, and the challenges associated with analyzing and applying self-reported fisheries data. Here we describe the current state of the program and provide summaries of the Study Fleet program operations and outcomes from 2007-2020, with an eye towards successes, challenges, and applicability of the approach in other regions. We suggest other reference fleet programs, as well as other developing fishery dependent data collections (e.g., electronic monitoring programs), develop detailed roadmaps for each data collection to keep participants engaged as collaborators, target specific fisheries to keep resources from being stretched too thin, and partner with data users early. Additionally, we suggest programs invest in the long-term participation of individual fishermen, carefully weigh the pros and cons of involvement in regulatory reporting, and plan data products and applications well in advance to ensure that the sampling scheme and granularity of the data meet the needs of stock assessment, ecosystem, and oceanographic scientists.

The views and opinions expressed or implied in this article are those of the author (or authors) and do not necessarily refl ect the position of the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

We studied a population of Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus in the Gulf of Maine to determine whether it exhibits diel spawning periodicity. Commercial fishing vessels were chartered for 25 dedicated long‐lining trips to collect sexually mature Haddock in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary at locations identified by commercial fishers as having spawning aggregations. In order to examine diel effects on Haddock reproduction, the changes in CPUE and percentages of male and female Haddock of all reproductive maturity stages, as well as gonadosomatic index (GSI), were observed across a 24‐h diel cycle. The comparison of diel patterns among different maturation stages was used to differentiate diel periodicity due to spawning from feeding behavior. Diel periodicity was observed for the proportion of males and females in the catch, the proportion and CPUE of male and female maturation stages most indicative of imminent spawning, and for female GSI. Although spawning occurred throughout the diel cycle, peak spawning of females occurred during the evening hours (1700–2100 hours) and gradually declined to low values during the day at 0900 hours. In an apparent contradiction male spawning stages were uniformly high except for lows during the night between 2100 and 0100 hours. We hypothesize that this pattern is consistent with lekking behavior where strong competition among spawning‐ready males during courtship would reduce their feeding activity during the peak spawning hours. Strong annual differences in diel periodicity may have resulted from different temporal patterns in the spawning season or density dependence, or both.

We have conducted several studies of haddock sounds in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) with mixed results. An analysis of an archival recording from captive haddock brood stock made in 1970 found that the “spawning rumble” sound occurred variously at the end of short thump trains, in the middle of thump trains, or in isolation. Interestingly, haddock were silent while spawning when we attempted to record sounds in the same facility in March 2000, suggesting that sound production may be negatively affected by chronic noise. Haddock sounds were absent in ROV and tethered instrument surveys in the summer and fall of 2001-2002. During 2006-2007, we deployed bottom mounted recorders while conducting long-line surveys of haddock spawning condition. Surprisingly few haddock sounds were detected and there was no correlation with spawning activity despite recording in highly active spawning areas. Haddock sounds consisted of isolated knocks, which were difficult to distinguish from thumps of unknown origin. We are now applying autodetection algorithms tuned to these data sets to extensive recordings made on the fishing grounds in 2003-2004. Our observations suggest that GOM haddock spawn in small isolated groups within a larger spawning area and their sounds are detectable only over short distances.