300 Abstract—The commercially valu- able Atlantic surfclam (Spisula so- Management strategy evaluation for the Atlantic lidissima) is harvested along the surfclam (Spisula solidissima) using a spatially northeastern continental shelf of the United States. Its range has con- explicit, vessel-based fisheries model tracted and shifted north, driven by warmer bottom water temperatures. 1 Declining landings per unit of effort Kelsey M. Kuykendall (contact author) (LPUE) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight Eric N. Powell1 (MAB) is one result. Declining stock John M. Klinck2 abundance and LPUE suggest that 1 overfishing may be occurring off Paula T. Moreno New Jersey. A management strategy Robert T. Leaf1 evaluation (MSE) for the Atlantic surfclam is implemented to evalu- Email address for contact author:
[email protected] ate rotating closures to enhance At- lantic surfclam productivity and in- 1 Gulf Coast Research Laboratory crease fishery viability in the MAB. The University of Southern Mississippi Active agents of the MSE model 703 East Beach Drive are individual fishing vessels with Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 performance and quota constraints 2 Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography influenced by captains’ behavior Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences over a spatially varying population. 4111 Monarch Way, 3rd Floor Management alternatives include Old Dominion University 2 rules regarding closure locations Norfolk, Virginia 23529 and 3 rules regarding closure du- rations. Simulations showed that stock biomass increased, up to 17%, under most alternative strategies in relation to estimated stock biomass under present-day management, and The Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solid- ally not found where average bottom LPUE increased under most alterna- issima) is an economically valuable temperatures exceed 25°C (Cargnelli tive strategies, by up to 21%.