Assessment and Management of the Georges Bank Cod Fishery: An Historical Review and Evaluation

Serchuk, Fredric M.; Wigley, Susan E.

doi:10.2960/j.v13.a3

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The history of the US northwest Atlantic cod fishery and subsequent changes in the fish community are well documented (Serchuk & Wigley 1992, Serchuk et al 1994, Murawski et al 1997, Fogarty & Murawski 1998. This species supported an important fishery for centuries, before increasing exploitation in the 1950s and 1960s led to increased landings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Even though the catch of this fish is a fraction of what it once was (e.g. Serchuk & Wigley 1992, Garrod & Schumaker 1994, Jakobsson et al 1994, Serchuk et al 1994, Murawski et al 1997, it is still one of the top species in terms of global fisheries landings (Garcia & Newton 1997, FAO 1998. This species remains a valuable fish in continental shelf ecosystems in the north Atlantic, the Arctic and associated waters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Trophic ecology of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua on the northeast US continental shelf

Link¹,

Garrison²

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

147

103

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Atlantic cod Gadus morhua is an extremely important fish in the northern hemisphere with respect to culture, economics, and ecology. However, the effects of over-fishing, environmental change, fish community dynamics and other factors that have altered the trophic ecology of cod are not well understood. We present an analysis of the trophic patterns of cod in the northeast US shelf ecosystem from a 25 yr time series of food habits data. Additionally, we compared the diet of this species with the spatio-temporal distribution of its prey species and evaluated prey preference over time. Atlantic cod exhibit an omnivorous diet; we assessed the temporal, spatial, and ontogenetic trends in this diet by examination of >15000 stomachs. Ontogenetic shifts in diet were observed; early juveniles consumed more pelagic than benthic invertebrates, medium cod consumed benthic invertebrates and fish, and larger cod consumed larger amounts of fish. Cannibalism also increased with ontogeny. Diet shifted significantly over a period of 3 decades, concurrent with changes in forage species abundance and distribution. Most of the major prey species were eaten in periods when they had high spatio-temporal overlap with cod and were abundant, indicating opportunistic feeding by cod. Similar to many other ecosystems, cod prefer sand lance, Cancer spp. crabs and herring, regardless of the abundance or spatio-temporal overlap with these prey species. It is unclear whether the observed changes in the trophic dynamics of cod have broad implications for cod populations, yet the evidence does suggest that cod are not likely to influence the abundance and distribution of their prey populations in this ecosystem.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic ecology of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua on the northeast US continental shelf

Link¹,

Garrison²

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

147

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It feeds primarily on amphipods and shrimps when small and shifts to piscivory as size increases (Garrison & Link 2000). In the NW Atlantic, cod populations in the Gulf of Maine (GoM) have been exploited for several hundred years (Serchuk & Wigley 1992, Jackson et al 2001, and are currently at extremely low population levels (Mayo & Terciero 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Site fidelity and movement of adult Atlantic cod Gadus morhua at deep boulder reefs in the western Gulf of Maine, USA

Lindholm

Auster²,

Knight³

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Little is known about the role that patterns of habitat selection play in mediating movement of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, particularly in off-shore environments. We used acoustic telemetry to study the movement of adult cod tagged at deep boulder reefs (DBRs) in the western Gulf of , and data on each fish were recorded for up to 95 d post-release. Twenty-three cod (35.4% of tagged fish) exhibited high site fidelity to the DBR where they were caught and released (recorded in > 82% of the 1 h time bins), while 33 cod (50.8% of tagged fish) appeared to depart the area rapidly following release (recorded in < 20% of the 1 h time bins). Cod with high site fidelity exhibited no pattern of diel activity. Cod movement among DBRs was recorded in both sampling periods (maximum linear distance of at least 24 km). Patterns of site fidelity and movement did not differ significantly with fish total length, among individual DBRs, or between sampling periods. Understanding the spatial dynamics of fish populations with both resident and transient components that are linked to particular habitats can aid in development of unique management strategies for both sustainable fisheries and conservation of biological diversity.

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“…These observations were counter to historic publications that made a direct connection between anadromous fish and commercially important marine groundfish (Field 1914). Fish poor groundfish diets of the 1960s and 1970s were likely related to excessive fishing pressure in the Northwest Atlantic by US and foreign fleets at that time (Melvin and Stephenson 2007;Overholtz 2002;Serchuk and Wigley 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Groundfish rebuilding efforts associated with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Act of 1976 effectively reduced nearshore fishing effort that had increased steadily since the 1940s (Ames 2004;Serchuk and Wigley 1992). Many day-boat fishermen (∼10 m vessels) switched to lobstering in the 1990s (Acheson 2006;Acheson 2013;Steneck et al 2011), with a resultant increase in stationary fishing gear that interfered with trawls and dredges.…”

Section: Fishing As An Ecosystem Drivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Diets and Stable Isotope Derived Food Web Structure of Fishes from the Inshore Gulf of Maine

Willis

Wilson

Johnson

2016

Estuaries and Coasts

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In the nearshore Gulf of Maine, a combination of factors (overfishing, ecosystem change, and ocean warming) is thought to govern groundfish recovery. We analyzed feeding habits of demersal predatory fish from Midcoast Maine (abundant river herring) and Passamaquoddy Bay (low river herring) in eastern Maine, using stomach content and stable isotope analyses, to determine the prevalence of river herring (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, and blueback herring, A. aestivalis) in nearshore (<4.5 km) groundfish diets. Invertebrates dominated all predator diets at all sites. At Midcoast sites, catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of Atlantic cod was higher, and fish predators showed a strong seasonal pattern in river herring consumptio n co mpared t o Passamaqouddy Bay. Cod, pollock (Pollachius virens), and sculpins (Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus and M. scorpius) from Midcoast sites tended to be enriched in δ 15 N relative to Passamaquoddy Bay. Contrasting fast vs. slow turnover tissue (fin vs. muscle) indicated that focal species migrated or food availability changed seasonally and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in Passamaquoddy Bay were assimilating into a trophically depleted food web.We posit that lack of forage fish in Passamaquoddy Bay contributed to conditions that encourage an invertebrate based diet. River herring are also an order of magnitude less abundant in Passamaquoddy Bay than at Midcoast sites, limiting the availability of this seasonal food source. River restoration may contribute to recovery of groundfish stocks nearshore by increasing the availability of high lipid, seasonally available prey.

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Assessment and Management of the Georges Bank Cod Fishery: An Historical Review and Evaluation

Cited by 32 publications

References 12 publications

Trophic ecology of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua on the northeast US continental shelf

Trophic ecology of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua on the northeast US continental shelf

Site fidelity and movement of adult Atlantic cod Gadus morhua at deep boulder reefs in the western Gulf of Maine, USA

Diets and Stable Isotope Derived Food Web Structure of Fishes from the Inshore Gulf of Maine

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