The Decline of Fisheries Resources in New England Evaluating the Impact of Overfishing, Contamination, and Habitat Degradation Edited by Robert Buchsbaum Massachusetts Audubon Society Judith Pederson Massachusetts Institute of Technology William E. Robinson University of Massachusetts, Boston MIT Sea Grant College Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Published by the MIT Sea Grant College Program 292 Main Street, E38-300 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 http://web.mit.edu/seagrant Acknowledgment: Sponsor, Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program Publication of this volume is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association contract no.: NA86RGO074. Copyright ©2005 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission of the holder. In order to photocopy any work from this publication legally, you need to obtain permission from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the copyright clearance of this publication. Design and production by Gayle Sherman Cover photo credits: front cover, background, rocky coast: Judith Pederson alewifes: Robert Buchsbaum lobster: Robert Steneck harvested scallops, fishing net, and back cover, fishing boats: Madeleine Hall-Arber The Decline of Fisheries Resources in New England: Evaluating the Impact of Overfishing, Contamination, and Habitat Degradation Edited by Robert Buchsbaum, Judith Pederson, and William E. Robinson MIT Sea Grant College Program Publication No. 05-5 We dedicate this book to our colleague, John Moring, who was a tireless advocate for the health of our fisheries in the marine environment. Acknowledgments We appreciate the encouragement and the financial support provided by the Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP), part of the National Estuary Program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This work was sponsored by a MBP grant, and the original concept came from their Technical Advisory Committee. In particular, we thank Jan P. Smith, Director of the MBP, for helping us to develop the vision for this project and for supporting us as the project unfolded. We also sincerely thank the many reviewers who volunteered their time and energy to critique each of the chapters of the book at various stages and for their valuable suggestions and advice. These include Peter Auster, Mark Chandler, Michael Dadswell, Ellie Dorsey, Michael Fogarty, David Franz, Madeleine Hall-Arber, Gareth Harding, Boyd Kynard, Sandra Macfarlane, Jack Pearce, Jack Schwartz, Jan Smith, Peter Wells, Christine Werme, Robert Whitlatch, and several anonymous reviewers. We especially thank our authors for each of their contributions, and, in addition, for their patience as we moved the process of publishing this book along. Finally, the publication of this work at MIT Sea Grant would not have been possible without the dedication and persistence of Gayle Sherman, who transformed all the raw manuscripts into a professional publication. Contents Preface iv I. Contamination, Habitat Degradation, Overfishing - An “Either-Or” Debate? 1 William E. Robinson and Judith Pederson II. The New England Groundfish Resource: A History of Population Change in Relation to Harvesting 11 Steven A. Murawski III Recent Trends in Anadromous Fishes 25 John Moring IV. Pollutant Effects upon Cod, Haddock, Pollock, and Flounder of the Inshore Fisheries of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays 43 Frederick P. Thurberg and Edith Gould V. The Effect of Habitat Loss and Degradation on Fisheries 67 Linda A. Deegan and Robert Buchsbaum VI. Effects of Natural Mortality and Harvesting on Inshore Bivalve Population Trends 97 Diane J. Brousseau VII. Biological Effects of Contaminants on Marine Shellfish and Implications for Monitoring Population Impacts 119 Judith E. McDowell VIII. Are We Overfishing the American Lobster? Some Biological Perspectives 131 Robert S. Steneck IX. The Role of Overfishing, Pollution, and Habitat Degradation on Marine Fish and Shellfish Populations of New England: Summary and Conclusions 149 Robert Buchsbaum X. Management Implications: Looking Ahead 163 Judith Pederson and William E. Robinson iv approach to managing fisheries and addresses Preface management needs into the future. Each of the authors was asked to review the First Preface (2001) latest scientific information on either overfishing, pollution, habitat degradation, or the relationship This book emerged from one of several issue among all three variables, on fish, lobsters, or papers sponsored by the Technical Advisory shellfish, particularly as it relates to the Committee of the Massachusetts Bays Program, Massachusetts Bays region. Authors were encour- one of the National Estuary Programs funded by aged to think broadly and to give some sense of the the Environmental Protection Agency. When we relative impacts on fisheries of the factors they started this project, the crisis in New England examined in detail compared to those attributable groundfish populations was not nearly as much in to other causes. They were also asked to identify the public consciousness as it is now. There was a data gaps and to suggest needed research. fair amount of conjecture within the fishing industry, Management implications were then addressed in due in part to uncertainty that exists in stock the final chapter. assessment, concern about pollution and habitat impacts, and anecdotal descriptions of improved Robert Buchsbaum fish catch that seemed at odds with agency predic- Judith Pederson tions as to the root cause of the problem. We William E. Robinson thought it useful to put together a volume that January 2001 examined the scientific evidence for effects of three major factors overfishing, pollution, and habitat degradation on northeast finfish, lobsters, and shellfish populations. This approach omits the socio-economic drivers which influence fisheries management decisions and the industry’s perception of the ecosystem. We acknowledge the importance Second Preface (2004) of these factors in the broader scope of the issue, however without a sound scientific knowledge, Since we first assembled the draft contributions achieving sustainability in fisheries will falter. of our authors into this volume and penned the above Preface in early 2001, high profile lawsuits During the intervening years since we began have changed implementation of fisheries manage- the project, the public became increasingly aware ment. Significant changes in fisheries stocks and of the seriousness of the crisis through numerous fisheries management have influenced our overall newspaper articles, scientific publications, public approach to using and managing our marine envi- forums, and political activities. The closure of large ronment. Some trends in fish population recovery parts of Georges Bank to groundfishing, and the appear favorable, whereas others are not quite so recent passage by the New England Fishery optimistic. Management Council of measures to further reduce fishing mortality focused much attention on the While not universal, a number of improve- effect that overfishing may have on marine ecosys- ments have been documented in various fishery tems and the fishing communities that depend on stocks. Probably the most notable change is in the those ecosystems. The cause of fish population northeast groundfishery, where several species pop- declines, the rate and extent of recovery, and ulations have increased as a result of the drastic approach to management are still debated. The use- measures implemented to reduce fishing pressure fulness of examining the declines in certain species (e.g. closure areas, severe restrictions in the number of commercially important fish, lobsters, and shell- of days a fisherman can fish). The National fish by taking multiple factors into consideration is Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s compelling because it represents a holistic (NOAA’s) annual reports to Congress on the v “Status of the Fisheries of the U.S.” have indicated to save the endangered Atlantic salmon in eight an overall improvement in groundfish stocks, as Maine rivers. But the loss of habitat, uncertainty in evidenced by the stock assessment data collected in the primary cause of mortality, and small wild pop- 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. When we started this ulations may limit a successful comeback to a work, over 70% of New England groundfish were thriving fishery. classified by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as overfished (NOAA, 1995). Status of the The story with lobsters is mixed. Lobster popu- Fisheries Resources off the Northeastern United lations have drastically fallen in southern New States for 1994. NOAA Tech. Memorandum England, with a concern that the same trend may NMFS-NE-108. National Marine Fisheries Service, be about to happen throughout the region. An arti- Woods Hole, MA. 140 pp.). The percentage now is cle in the December 2004 Commercial Fisheries about 30% (NMFS, 2001. Report to Congress. News reported that Maine’s lobster landings have Status of Fisheries of the United States. NMFS, remained “relatively high” (yet down from 2002), NOAA, Silver Spring, MD. 127 p.). An exception- although landings have fallen precipitously in other ally good cod spawn in the Gulf of Maine in 1998, states. A recent Cape Cod Times editorial (28 June combined with restricted