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The bay scallop is a culturally important species that once supported significant fisheries along the U.S. east coast. Mass population declines in the 1900s led to a nearly total loss of the fishery in most states, including Rhode Island. In certain areas, intensive, long-term restoration efforts have effectively restored scallop populations and fisheries on a small scale, but indicate that such plans must be scoped specific to systems. In an effort to support the development of an upcoming Rhode Island Shellfish Restoration Plan, relevant knowledge on bay scallops was collated and summarized, and this information was used to create a habitat suitability index that can act as a guide to identify suitable restoration sites for renewed bay scallop restoration efforts in one of the largest coastal salt ponds in Rhode Island. Point Judith Pond. Point Judith Pond was once the epicenter of the bay scallop fishery in the state of Rhode Island, and the ranked index suggests multiple sites throughout the pond are likely to once again provide adequate habitat for bay scallops. Restoration strategies such as caged spawner sanctuaries and the release of competent larvae in areas identified as suitable by the index are recommended for future restoration planning of this species. KEY WORDS: shellfish, restoration strategies, habitat suitability index, enhancement, restoration planning, INTRODUCTION In the late 19th century and much of the 20th century, robust populations of bay scallops supported a lucrative fishery in the United States (U.S.) (MacKenzie 2008). Bay scallop [...]

The introduction of thousands of wind turbines along the North American Atlantic continental shelf over the next decade will constitute the largest regional change in marine substrates since the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet over 14,000 years ago. Here, two large data sets, SMAST drop camera survey (242,949 samples, 2003 to 2019) and the US Geological Survey databases (27,784 samples, 1966 to 2011), are combined to derive sea floor surficial substrate probability maps for the Northeastern US continental shelf from Virginia Beach to the Gulf of Maine to 300 m depth (218,571 km2). Geostatistical models were used to estimate the probability of five geologic and one biogenic substrate types being present at a 250 m resolution, and the proportional contribution of each substrate type to the seabed composition at a 500 m resolution. By providing the first synoptic maps depicting the probability of a particular substrate or combination of substrates occurring at any location on the Northeastern US continental shelf, including planned wind energy sites, we aim to (1) provide insights regarding how substrates in the areas selected for wind energy development compare with other locations, (2) motivate the development of a priori expectations for ecosystem changes to inform monitoring and research efforts going forward, and (3) to provide a baseline characterization of the Northeastern US continental shelf surficial substrates to support robust examination of the future changes observed in areas impacted by wind energy installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) fisheries have recently developed off the coast of Atlantic Canada. The reproductive cycle, developmental stages, and feeding biology of this species have been described, but fishery-related metrics remain largely unknown. Measuring lengths and weights of individuals in fished populations is fundamental for stock assessment and management. These measurements are used to identify trends in individual size related to fishing pressure on the population over time. Length and weight measurements are recorded for commercially caught C. frondosa, but plasticity of their body makes precise measures difficult, resulting in varying techniques that lack consistency. Several methods of measuring and estimating size and weight of C. frondosa were tested for accuracy in a laboratory setting. Indices that accounted for the size of individuals on multiple planes proved more useful for estimating wet weight than length or width alone. Accurate wet weight estimates were possible from drop-camera images taken of individuals in situ using size indices that combined length and width, as well as area covered. Timing of measurements was a key variable. The time out of water significantly changed the wet weight measurements, with an average weight change of 31.93% (SD [+ or -] 14.92) over a 1-h period, but after the first 10 min, measures were consistent, suggesting animals expelled most of their fluid shortly after removal from the water. Although there are many sources of potential error when measuring C. frondosa, consistent timing and size metrics that incorporate overall size, as opposed to a single dimension, show promise for evaluating changes in individual size over time. Standardized methods will enable the collection of data that can be used in stock assessment to determine reference points and vital statistics for this developing fishery. KEY WORDS: Cucumaria frondosa, sea cucumber, Scotian Shelf, fishery dependent, length--weight relationship, morphometrics, INTRODUCTION With collapsing traditional sea cucumber fisheries and demand increasing for sea cucumber products, fisheries have developed in the northwest Atlantic Ocean where the orange-footed sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa (Gunnerus, [...]

Large-scale fishing closures are a leading tool in the spatial management of global ocean resources. This is exemplified in the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fishery which uses a rotational scheme of temporary closed areas in both offshore and nearshore waters. The closed areas are generally hundreds to thousands square kilometers, but a group of inshore commercial scallop harvesters were interested in the effect of closing a much smaller area (3 [km.sup.2]), which had sustained valuable harvest before recent poor yields. To describe changes in scallop abundance and size within and around this closure, two independent surveys, a drop camera and diver transect, were conducted through industry--academic collaboration. In addition, this unusual union of a predominately offshore method, the drop camera, and inshore method, divers, was used to better interpret the results of each method. The drop camera survey results suggested that the closure significantly increased the biomass of exploitable scallops, showing that even closure orders of magnitude smaller than commonly used for scallops can be effective. Although the dive survey did not show this, understanding the uncertainties of each method helped resolve this discrepancy. Drop camera densities were calculated from a broader spatial area more representative of the entire area with increased sample size. By contrast, the dive survey provided an intensive description of scallops at each individual survey site. Combining a drop camera survey with dive stations to collect scallop measurements would provide densities from a spatial scale representative of the study area while improving shell height frequency estimation and providing biological data. In addition, this project demonstrated how stakeholder engagement supported by academic institutions and fishery managers can allow intensive monitoring of small fishery closed areas outside of government assessments. KEY WORDS: Placopecten magellanicus, invertebrates, fisheries management, benthic imaging, Gulf of Maine, SCUBA, INTRODUCTION Large-scale fishing closures are a leading tool in the spatial management of global ocean resources (Lubchenco & Grorud-Colvert 2015, FAO 2018). The objectives of large-scale fishing closures are case [...]

Objective: There is international pressure to increase the worldwide expanse of marine protected areas (MPAs). However, MPAs often lack preexisting long‐term biological baselines, which are essential for assessing MPA effects and for refining the conservation and socioeconomic benefits they confer to society. Our study addresses this issue by establishing demographic baselines for two commercially important species prior to a proposed fishing ban inside the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a recently established MPA on the continental shelf break approximately 200 km southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Methods: Samples were obtained by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation's American Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet, which is an industry‐based, fishery‐dependent data collection program. Specially trained participants recorded year‐round biological data from their 2013 to 2021 commercial catches of American lobster Homarus americanus and Jonah crab Cancer borealis. Samples were taken from an area inside the MPA and from two areas outside the MPA, spanning 130 km to the east and west. Result: American lobster sizes and sex ratios varied between areas, and their sizes, sex ratios, and proportion of ovigerous females differed between submarine canyons within areas. American lobster sizes, sex ratio, proportion of ovigerous females, and prevalence of shell disease were also affected by season and/or depth. Jonah crab parameters did not vary between areas, but sex ratio varied with season and depth, and the proportion of ovigerous females varied with depth. Conclusion: These demographic baselines are the only data available, at a sufficient spatial and temporal resolution, for evaluating the effects of a proposed fishing ban in the MPA, and they fill important data gaps for stock assessments. To evaluate possible future population changes, it will be necessary to continue collecting data from inside and outside the MPA using comparable methods, and to account for the preexisting sources of variation that we have identified. Impact statementMarine protected areas (MPAs) need monitoring to evaluate their benefits to society. We characterized American lobster and Jonah crab populations inside and outside a newly created MPA while commercial harvest was still operating, thereby providing essential information needed for assessing future responses to planned fishing closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bycatch of mid-trophic-level anadromous fishes that connect marine and freshwater ecosystems is a growing conservation concern. Anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) are important components of coastal freshwater and marine food webs, but have experienced dramatic declines in the abundances of spawning adults. Freshwater-focused restoration efforts have yielded few consistent signs of recovery, raising concerns that bycatch in Northwest Atlantic commercial fisheries may be negating these conservation actions. Using data from 15 microsatellites genotyped for baseline populations and bycatch, we conducted genetic stock identification to understand how bycatch was partitioned among previously identified regional genetic stocks. We then combined this information with fishery observer data to estimate genetic stock-specific bycatch mortality for the southern New England Atlantic herring fishery (2012-2013). Bycatch overall, but especially in the Atlantic herring fishery, was disproportionately assigned to the most severely depleted genetic stocks (alewife southern New England stock--70% of assignments; blueback herring mid-Atlantic stock--78% of assignments). These genetic stocks overlap in the region surrounding Long Island Sound, suggesting that bycatch taken from this area in recent years may be negatively impacting recovery efforts in this region. Our study suggests that mitigating bycatch on the southern New England fishing grounds may benefit recovery efforts for alewife and blueback herring genetic stocks that have experienced the greatest declines in spawning adult abundances. Les prises accessoires de poissons anadromes de niveaux trophiques intermediaires qui relient les ecosystemes marins aux ecosystemes d'eau douce sont de plus en plus preoccupantes en ce qui concerne la conservation. Si le gaspareau (Alosa pseudoharengus) anadrome et l'alose d'ete (Alosa aestivalis) sont des elements importants des reseaux trophiques marins et d'eau douce littoraux, ils ont connu des baisses considerables de l'abondance d'adultes reproducteurs. Les efforts de restauration axes sur les milieux d'eau douce ont produit peu d'indices de retablissement coherents, donnant a penser que ces efforts de conservation pourraient etre contrecarres par les prises accessoires dans les peches commerciales du nord-ouest de l'Atlantique. En utilisant les donnees de 15 microsatellites genotypes pour des populations de reference et des prises accessoires, nous avons identifie les stocks pour comprendre la repartition des prises accessoires parmi differents stocks genetiques regionaux deja identifies. Nous avons ensuite combine cette information a des donnees d'observation des peches pour estimer la mortalite des prises accessoires propre aux differents stocks genetiques pour la peche au hareng du sud de la Nouvelle-Angleterre (2012-2013). Les prises accessoires en general, mais particulierement dans la peche au hareng, etaient demesurement affectees aux stocks genetiques les plus decimes (70 % des affectations au stock de gaspareaux du sud de la Nouvelle-Angleterre; 78 % des affectations au stock medio-atlantique d'aloses d'ete). Ces stocks genetiques se chevauchent dans la region entourant le detroit de Long Island, donnant a penser que les prises accessoires prelevees dans cette region aucours des dernieres annees pourraient avoir un impact negatif sur les efforts de retablissement dans cette region. L'etude donne a penser que la reduction des prises accessoires dans les zones de peche du sud de la Nouvelle-Angleterre pourrait etre benefique pour les efforts de retablissement des stocks genetiques de gaspareaux et d'aloses d'ete ayant connu les baisses les plus importantes d'abondance d'adultes reproducteurs. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction The incidental catch of nontarget species in commercial fisheries (i.e., bycatch) represents a major threat to the health of marine ecosystems (Crowder and Murawski 1998; Chuenpagdee et al. 2003). [...]

The bycatch of river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus and A. aestivalis) and American shad (A. sapidissima) by midwater trawl vessels targeting Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) has become a possible threat to their conservation. Most bycatch occurs during winter when the regional distributions of these five species overlap. The life histories and habits of these species suggest that there are times and areas during winter where overlap is low and bycatch could be reduced. This study identified environmental conditions associated with the presence of river herring and American shad during winter in the US Mid-Atlantic area by testing the hypothesis that fish were detected in an equal proportion to the amount of samples taken within an environmental condition. River herring were associated with colder temperatures and relatively shallow depths, while American shad appeared to be associated with a broader habitat. To determine whether these associations could be used to reduce bycatch, the proportion of effort and catch of target and bycatch species under the conditions associated with bycatch species presence was quantified in a fishery-dependent dataset. Targeting Atlantic mackerel in waters with surface temperatures above 6°C appeared to be the most effective advice for reducing river herring bycatch. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article assesses the connection of using fish bait to the vulnerability of American lobsters to the epizotic shell disease (ESD), where the lobsters infected by the disease have increased within the New England area of the U.S. Lobsters were randomly classified in 3 groups of 16 and are fed with various food including mussels, herring, and crabs. Results reveal that 175 lobsters that were fed with the fish bait have different levels of ESD, yet do not experience worsened effects of the disease.