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Atlantic Cod, Haddock, Pollock United States Atlantic Cod, Haddock, Pollock Gadus morhua, Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Pollachius virens ©Monterey Bay Aquarium United States Bottom trawl, Bottom gillnet, Bottom longline, Handline November 6, 2013 Sam Wilding, Seafood Watch staff Disclaimer Seafood Watch® strives to ensure all our Seafood Reports and the recommendations contained therein are accurate and reflect the most up‐to‐date evidence available at time of publication. All our reports are peer‐ reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science or aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch program or its recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch is solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. We always welcome additional or updated data that can be used for the next revision. Seafood Watch and Seafood Reports are made possible through a grant from the David and Lucile Packard 2 Final Seafood Recommendation Stock / Fishery Impacts on Impacts on Management Habitat and Overall the Stock other Spp. Ecosystem Recommendation Atlantic cod: Georges Bank Red (1.41) Green (5.00) Yellow (3.00) Green (3.57) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.950) ‐ Handline Atlantic cod: Gulf of Maine Red (1.41) Red (2.00) Yellow (3.00) Green (3.57) Avoid (2.346) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Handline Haddock: Georges Bank Green (5.00) Red (1.41) Yellow (3.00) Green (3.57) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.950) ‐ Handline Haddock: Gulf of Maine Red (2.00) Red (1.41) Yellow (3.00) Green (3.57) Avoid (2.346) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Handline Atlantic cod: Gulf of Maine Red (1.41) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Avoid (2.054) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Large mesh bottom gillnet Atlantic pollock Green (5.00) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.816) ‐ Large mesh bottom gillnet Atlantic cod: Georges Bank Red (1.41) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Avoid (2.054) United States Georges Bank ‐ Large mesh bottom gillnet Atlantic cod: Georges Bank Red (1.41) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Avoid (1.935) United States Georges Bank ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Atlantic cod: Gulf of Maine Red (1.41) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Avoid (1.935) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Haddock: Georges Bank Green (5.00) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.654) ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Haddock: Gulf of Maine Red (2.00) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Avoid (2.111) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Atlantic pollock Green (5.00) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.654) ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Atlantic cod: Georges Bank Red (1.41) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Avoid (2.054) United States Georges Bank ‐ Longline, Bottom Atlantic cod: Gulf of Maine Red (1.41) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Avoid (2.054) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Longline, Bottom 3 Haddock: Georges Bank Green (5.00) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Good Alternative United States Georges Bank (2.816) ‐ Longline, Bottom Haddock: Gulf of Maine Red (2.00) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Avoid (2.240) United States Gulf of Maine ‐ Longline, Bottom Atlantic pollock Green (5.00) Red (1.34) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (3.12) Good Alternative United States Gulf of Maine (2.816) ‐ Large mesh bottom gillnet Atlantic pollock Green (5.00) Red (1.27) Yellow (3.00) Yellow (2.60) Good Alternative United States Gulf of Maine (2.654) ‐ Large mesh bottom trawl Scoring note – Scores range from zero to five where zero indicates very poor performance and five indicates the fishing operations have no significant impact. Final Score = geometric mean of the four Scores (Criterion 1, Criterion 2, Criterion 3, Criterion 4). Best Choice = Final Score between 3.2 and 5, and no Red Criteria, and no Critical scores Good Alternative = Final score between 2.2 and 3.199, and Management is not Red, and no more than one Red Criterion other than Management, and no Critical scores Avoid = Final Score between 0 and 2.199, or Management is Red, or two or more Red Criteria, or one or more Critical scores. 4 Executive Summary The following Seafood Watch report provides recommendations for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and pollock (Pollachius virens) caught in the Northwest Atlantic by U.S fishing vessels. The three species inhabit similar habitats, have similar natural ranges, and are caught in mixed fisheries using a variety of methods including bottom trawls, sink gillnets, bottom longlines, and rod and line which will be covered by this report. The fisheries which capture cod, haddock and pollock in the Northwest Atlantic are managed by New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC) under the Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Cod, haddock and pollock have a high inherent vulnerability to fishing pressure. There are two seperate stocks of cod and haddock in the US Northwest Atlantic; Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine. Cod abundance on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine is in an overfished state and of high conservation concern. Fishing pressure on both stocks by all fishing gears is too high. Haddock stocks are healthier and have fully rebuilt on Georges Bank and are above threshold biomass levels in the Gulf of Maine. Georges Bank haddock are fished at a sustainable level, whilst fishing presure in the Gulf of Maine is too high. Pollock abundance in the Northwest Atlantic is helathy and is being fished at a sustainable level. The handline fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic are relatively selective, with no species of concern caught other than the target species (typically cod). Bottom trawl fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic catch a wide variety of species, including commercially important fish and marine mammals. Of greatest concern in the bottom trawl fisheries for cod, haddock and pollock is the bycatch of yellowtail flounder which is overfished and experiencing overfishing on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. Bottom gillnet fisheries catch a variety of species, including a number of marine mammals; of greatest concern are harbor porpoise which are listed as a species of concern under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and are being negatively impacted by fishing activities in the region. Bottom longline fisheries are relvatively selective compared to the trawl and gillnet fisheries, however there is a bycatch of cod and a number of skate species that are stocks of concern. Bottom trawls have a discard rate of 48% in the region, with gillnets and longlines having a discard rate of 28% each, and handline having a discard rate of 8% (most of which is undersized cod). The NEFMC manages the groundfish fishery through a collective FMP which covers 20 stocks form 13 species. Grouping species together allows NEFMC to manage these mixed fisheries more effectively than if individual species FMPs were used. Due to the historical exploitation to 5 which the stocks have been exposed, a number of stocks are depleted or in a state of rebuilding. NEFMC has recently introduced a new management system which should improve the rate of recovery of stocks. There is a considerable effort to collect data in these fisheries through logbooks and observer coverage, which guides stock assessments (along with fishery independent data). NEFMC take into account the scientific information provided by stock assessments on the majority of occasions, however in some instances TACs have been set too high in response to social and economic need. There are a number of regulations in place which require fisheries managers to reduce the impacts of fishing activities on non‐target populations. Reporting of bycatch incentivizes reduction efforts whilst providing data for scientific research and stock assessments. The observer program provides considerable data to aid in stock assessments of target and bycatch species. Enforcement is generally good, however enforcement of regulations concerning the use of pingers in gillnet fisheries could be improved. The majority of the groundfish fishery takes place in water less than 100m deep over sand and sand‐silt habitats, and gravel habitats impacted by the fishery occur in waters less than 60m deep. Habitata impacts are a moderate conservation concern for bottom trawl fisheries, low conservation concern for bottom gillnet and bottom longline fisheries, and very low concern for handline fisheries. There is a minimal level of mitigation measures in place as a number of permanent closed areas protect essential fish habitat from bottom trawls, and other temporary and permanent closures which offer some protection from all gears (although these are not designated specifically for habitat protection and may not protect the most vulnerable of habiats). Ecosystem‐based management is currently being developed for the groundfish fishery in the Northwest Atlantic and this process is expected to take a minimum of 5 years. Management of the ecosystem in this region is a moderate conservation concern. 6 Table of Contents Final Seafood Recommendation ................................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................
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