Researchers from our science center and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology have been working to better understand how offshore wind development will affect commercial fishing in our region. They’ve found that two data sources, required vessel trip reports and the more detailed trip-level data collected by our Study Fleet, can be used together to improve estimates of fishing revenue derived from wind lease areas. This is just one example of how information collected by the Study Fleet can bring out details analysts need to get a clearer picture of what is happening in a fishery ecosystem. For more on how the Study Fleet has grown, its contributions, and prospects for the future, check out this recent paper, authored by Study Fleet participants and staff from our Cooperative Research Branch.

In late July, commercial fishermen, scientists, members of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence’s EarthRanger team, and others got together to do some gear location testing in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Their goal: determine how well the cloud-based EarthRanger platform could “see” on-demand commercial fishing gear deployed in the water. On-demand gear eliminates the need for multiple lines and buoys in the water at all times. Less line in the water means less chance of marine animals becoming entangled. It also could mean fewer injuries and deaths of endangered North Atlantic right whales and continued fishing in areas that might be restricted to protect whales. But how will other fishermen, vessels, and managers know where fishing gear is set on the ocean bottom if there is no buoy marking it at the surface? That’s where the EarthRanger platform may help. How did testing go? Read fishery biologist Christin Khan’s blog to find out. You can also learn more about the project here.

Our Cooperative Research Branch will host two cooperative research summits in early 2023. These one-day summits will bring scientists, managers, fishermen, and industry representatives together to discuss their cooperative research projects, ways to enhance industry participation, best practices for applying project results to assessments and management, and funding opportunities. The summits will also help facilitate regional coordination and foster new partnerships. One summit will be held on January 31, in Newport News, Virginia, and the other will be held on February 15, in Providence, Rhode Island. Registration required. Deadline to register is December 2, 2022.

Since 1992, we’ve conducted research on Atlantic salmon scales collected during annual field activities. These scales provide age and growth data. By looking at the data over time, we can see trends that help us understand what is happening in endangered Atlantic salmon populations. Results from scale studies contribute to and inform stock assessments and support population dynamics research. 

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center has been busy during 2022 working in the field and completing our survey activities. We have posted descriptions of our survey success for three of our higher priority surveys: Spring Bottom Trawl, Sea Scallop Survey, and Spring Ecosystem Monitoring. We completed a number of other surveys including the Gulf of Maine Shrimp Survey, North Atlantic Right Whale Survey, Gulf of Maine Longline Survey, and the CoastSpan Survey.  Thanks to a congressional increase in our funding we have also fully supported the Maine–New Hampshire Inshore Survey and the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Nearshore Trawl Survey conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Both of these are part of the NorthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program, a long running state/federal data collection effort. All of these surveys are standardized, long-term data collection programs designed to support marine resource management. The U.S. Northeast Shelf Ecosystem is one of the best understood marine ecosystems in the world—largely as a result of commitment in the region to long-term standardized data collection. Our goal is to keep it that way.