Figure III.C.3-6

Mid-Atlantic landings, in terms of dollar value. Data represents means derived by averaging landing values from the years of 1982 and 1983. (For a partial species list per statistical unit, refer to Table B Appendix G).

A wide range of economic multipliers have been suggested for different fisheries and localities. A value of 2.7 was suggested for the State of Maine (Briggs et al., 1982) and 4.24 for the State of Rhode Island (State of Rhode Island). In general, economic multipliers for east coast fisheries seem to be in the range of 2 to 3 times the ex-vessel value. Using an economic multiplier value of 2.5, the actual value of the 1982, mid-Atlantic commercial landings is approximately $531,910,000.

In the mid-Atlantic region several fishery management plans (FMPs) have been either completed or issued in draft form. These documents provide an excellent overview of the particular fishery, in terms of stock and habitat description, fishing activities, economic characterization, business markets, and more. These major FMPs are partially summarized here with respect to characterizing the fisheries, but the original document should be consulted for specifics. Data from the following FMPs are included: from the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council, the draft Bluefish FMP (1982), the Proposed Amendment No. 1 to the FMP for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries (1983), and Amendment No. 2 for the surf clam and Ocean Quahog FMP and FEIS (1979); from the New England Fishery Management Council, the Draft American Lobster FMP (1982); and from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Draft FMP for Swordfish (1983). In addition to these publications, other general descriptions of mid-Atlantic commercial fisheries can be found in Long and Figley (1981), McHugh and Ginter (1978), Gusey (1976), Caruso (1982), TRIGOM (1974), and CNA (1977).

Bluefish

Commercial landings of bluefish have been recorded since 1880. Historically, landings dropped rapidly in the early 1900s and began to increase again in the early 1920s. In the time period between 1930 and 1970, landings steadily increased, and in 1981 were reported at over 15 million pounds. In the midAtlantic region, the greatest percentage of the landings (80 percent) come from State waters, with the remaining 20 percent being harvested from the fishery conservation zone.

Gear used to harvest bluefish include drift gill nets, otter trawls, mid-water trawls, and purse seines. The gear used varies with the season and distribution of the fish.

Bluefish catches relative to total catches of food finfish, squid, and shrimp amount to greater than 1 percent of the ex-vessel value for all the midAtlantic states. However, recent analysis of catch data seems to indicate that the majority of the east coast landings will come from the State of North Carolina. Over the last few years the demand for bluefish has been increasing, and at the same time the price per pound has also been on the rise. The increased consumer demand for bluefish may be the result of several factors such as changing consumer tastes, substitution of bluefish for flounder and croaker, better marketing through distribution and packaging, stablization of the market, and increasing average individual weights of bluefish.

Bluefish is marketed almost exclusively as a fresh fish product, generally iced at dockside, and shipped to local fish markets. This type of selling tends to restrict the extent of the market. If technology could be developed to present a quality product to more inland markets, the fishery could be expected to expand.

Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish

Commercial landings of squid (long and short-fin) were at an all-time high during 1982, as were butterfish landings. Atlantic mackerel landings were the highest since 1970. Much of this growth came from the fishery conservation zone (FCZ), especially for butterfish. In 1982, 77 percent of the mackerel catch came from the FCZ; squid landings were 70 percent; and butterfish reached 92 percent.

Gear used to harvest mackerel is of three types: pound nets, floating trap nets, or trawls. Both squid and butterfish are harvested almost exclusively by trawls. Rhode Island trawlers accounted for more than half of the total butterfish caught between 1971 and 1980.

The three species included in the fishery management plan are valuable primarily as an export item. In 1980, exports of mackerel were $13.8 million, squid $2.3 million, and butterfish approximately $2 million. Among others, Japanese markets are active purchasers of these products, especially squid. In addition to exporting these fishery products, direct offloading from American to foreign fishing vessels under joint venture agreements have taken place. During 1982, seven joint ventures were approved and occurred in the mid- and north Atlantic regions.

While the volume and value of the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries have been increasing, they still continue to be relatively unimportant when compared to other species. A small number of counties report the majority of the landings. The most important counties were Essex County, Massachusetts for mackerel, Suffolk County, New York for squid, and Washington County, Rhode Island for butterfish.

Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog

The commercial harvest of surf clams began around 1870. At that time the principal use was as bait. In the 1940s a switch to its use as a food item occurred, with virtually all of the catch being taken from inshore Long Island beds. By 1950, extensive offshore beds were located off New Jersey and served as the major fishery resource base until the early 1970s. As the offshore beds became depleted, inshore surf clam resources off southern New Jersey became more heavily fished. Most recently, efforts have been concentrated off southern Virginia-North Carolina.

The ocean quahog fishery has been a small industry operated out of a few Rhode Island ports. Interest in mid-Atlantic ocean quahog beds began in 1976 and has grown rapidly since then. Landings from the FCZ during 1978 were about 20.2 million pounds (meat weight), of which, only a small percentage came from Rhode Island grounds.

Surf clam landings from the mid-Atlantic FCZ were 31.4 million pounds (meat weight) in 1978. Of this catch, approximately 92 percent was taken off the Delmarva Peninsula, 8 percent off New Jersey, and 0.2 percent from southern Virginia-North Carolina. "In terms of total weight of clam meats landed annually, the surf clam is the most significant commercial clam industry in the U.S. Surf clam has accounted for 69 percent of all commercially caught clam meats in the U.S., and 25 percent of the ex-vessel value of clams during the past 10 years" (Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1979).

The gear used to harvest surf clams and ocean quahogs is principally the hydraulic dredge. The average blade size of mid-Atlantic hydraulic dredges is 60 in. Vessels used to tow this gear range between 18 to 146 ft in length. In 1978, it was estimated that 157 vessels harvested surf clams and 142 took ocean quahogs.

American Lobster

The lobster fishery has been in existence since the late 1700s but has expanded greatly during the latter half of the 19th century. The fishery has historically been a trap fishery conducted in coastal waters. The offshore lobster fishery did not develop until the early 1950s. At that time, technological advancements allowed an offshore otter trawl fishery for lobster, primarily near canyon areas. After the offshore trawl landings began to decline in the early 1970s, the offshore emphasis was shifted to traps. During the 1970s, the deepwater trap fishery extended across the continental shelf area and along the shelf edge from Lydonia Canyon to Norfolk Canyon.

Total landings of American lobster peaked in 1981, with a total of 17,000 metric tons valued at $86.5 million. The bulk of the landings come from the New England region, with Maine producing 59 percent of the total landings. In the mid-Atlantic region, the fishery is predominantly offshore. Mid-Atlantic fishermen also harvest Jonah crabs as incidental offshore catch.

Swordfish

Swordfish have been harvested in the northwest Atlantic since the 19th century. Until 1962 all swordfish were harpooned in the waters between New York and Canada during the summer. Then in the early 1960s, longline gear began to be utilized and the fishery expanded. By the mid-1960s, the fishery extended to the Gulf of Mexico and operated year-round. In 1971, the fishery crashed when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited the sale of swordfish with mercury concentrations greater than 0.5 ppm. When the permissible level was raised to 1.0 ppm in 1978, the fishery rejuvenated and has been growing steadily since.

Approximately 50 New England and mid-Atlantic based vessels operate longlines throughout east coast outer shelf and shelf-edge waters. Vessels are comparatively large in size (generally over 60 ft long), and are equipped to stay out for 2 weeks at a time. Longline gear is usually baited with squid and a chemical light stick used as an attractant. Longlines are fished at water depths between 12 and 36 m.

Commercial Fisheries of Concern in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Commercial fisheries landings often exhibit sizable and irregular fluctuations. These fluctuations are the result of many variables such as market demand, technological advances, changes in consumer tastes, fishery regulations and legislation, the fitness of the national economy, and variation in recruitment rates. However, for two mid-Atlantic species, tilefish and striped bass, the current condition of the stocks warrants further discussion.

Tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) is a mid- and north Atlantic species which is an integral part of several States' commercial fisheries. Among these States, New Jersey and New York are the principal harvesters. In 1982, these two States accounted for 99 percent of the total mid-Atlantic landings of tilefish (by volume). Within the State of New Jersey, tilefish are the second most important finfish and represent 6 percent of the total State landings, in terms of ex-vessel value.

Tilefish are a rather unique species. Unlike many mid-Atlantic finfish that demonstrate extensive migrations, either north-south or inshore-offshore, tilefish occupy a very restricted habitat. They inhabit a narrow band of water located along the outer edge of the continental shelf and upper slope. Within this band, water temperatures are relatively constant, ranging between 9 and 14°C (Turner et al., 1981). Temperatures of this sort are usually found in water depths between 50 and 150 fathoms (91.4 to 274.3 m) (Grimes and Turner, 1982). Tilefish are found in three types of habitats: Pleistocene clay sediments (used for burrow construction), nearly vertical Pueblo villages (see Figure 44, Appendix G) located in submarine canyon walls with slopes of 5-70° and boulder fields (Grimes and Turner, 1982). Burrows appear to be used for hiding and protection. This is supported by submersible observations that note the fish entering the burrows in a head-first manner (Able et al., 1982). Other deep-sea observations also indicate that tilefish remain close to their burrows, and demonstrate little movement (Grimes et al., 1982). These very precise habitat requirements make tilefish vulnerable to mortalities resulting from environmental fluctuations. the late 1800's a large tilefish kill caused by environmental fluctuations was recorded. For many years following the mass mortality, tilefish were thought to be extinct in the mid- and north Atlantic (Bumpus, 1898).

In

Little is known about the reproductive behavior of these fish. It is believed that they generate buoyant, pelagic eggs (Grimes, 1982, personal communication), and that peak spawning activity occurs from May to October, with some fractional spawning probably occurring throughout the year (Grimes and Turner, 1982). The nursery areas and distribution of juveniles are poorly understood (Grimes and Turner, 1982).

The fishery for tilefish is a bottom longline operation, which is concentrated during the late winter and spring when suitable water temperatures occur in a constricted region (Grimes et al., 1980). Longlines are usually baited with squid and set in half-mile units, or tubs, which may be linked together totaling between 3 to 20 units. Landings from the mid-Atlantic stock, which is felt to be discreet from fish found south of Cape Hatteras (Katz et al., 1980), are shown in Figure III.C.3-7. This figure shows a fishery which was essentially unexploited prior to 1973, became heavily fished from 1973 to 1980, and now appears to be overfished from 1981 to the present. Since 1978, catch-per-tub data indicate that the catch rate has fallen off by 50 to 60 percent, even though effort has doubled since 1978 (Grimes and Turner, 1982). It is estimated that the maximum sustainable yield for this fishery is approximately 2,700 metric tons, a level which is 2/3 of that demonstrated during 1982 (Grimes and Turner, 1982). Population analysis using individual growth rates also indicates that some overfishing is occurring (Grimes and Turner, 1982). Current landings are exceeding biological levels, and at the same time, the price per pound has been increasing, even after adjusting for inflation (Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1982).