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Features of the North Atlantic Region
The North Atlantic region is comprised of three principal sub-regions: the Gulf of Maine, Georges
Bank, and the Southern New England shelf region of the Middle Atlantic Bight, which includes the
shelf and slope waters ranging from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, south to Buzzards and Narragansett Bays,
Long Island Sound, and the waters south of Montauk on the continental shelf, slope, and rise,
including numerous submarine canyons.
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New England Coastline ~ NASA image
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- The Gulf of Maine is 90,700 km2 in area with seventy percent of its perimeter enclosed by land
and seaward boundaries of Nantucket Shoals, Georges Bank, and Browns Bank.
- The Northeast Channel, between Browns Bank and Georges Bank, allows exchange of water between
the continental slope and the Gulf. Deep basins, shallow banks, and major channels interact with
strong tidal flows to produce complex circulation patterns.
- The waters of the Gulf of Maine are composed of three distinct water masses with distinct deep,
intermediate and surface layers.
- The combination of complex topography, diverse sediment types and water flow promotes the high
productivity of this region that has, in turn, produced large catches of demersal and pelagic
fishery resources which have sustained regional economies for centuries.
- Georges Bank, located on the southern edge of the Gulf of Maine, is 150 km wide and 280 km
long which rises 100 m above the floor of the Gulf. It is separated from the Scotian Shelf by
the Northeast Channel and from Nantucket Shoals by the Great South Channel. The northern portion
of the bank is considerably more complex than the southern portion with long series of
interweaving shoals and sand waves. The northern edge is a steep feature dropping into the Gulf of
Maine. The southern and eastern edges descend down the continental slope and are incised with
steep and complex submarine canyons.
- The Southern New England shelf is characterized by its broad continental margins, large
estuaries, and deep ocean canyons. Land bordering this area is the most densely populated and
urbanized in the nation.
- Long Island Sound is a large estuary, 110 miles long, with a surface area of 1,300 square miles.
Issues Facing the Region
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Fishing gear (bottom trawl) ~ Image
provided by Lance Stewart
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Overfishing
The North Atlantic region has supported a fishing industry for over 500 years. Atlantic cod and
related species fueled the exploration and colonization of North America. Today, as a result of 50
years of intense fishing by foreign fleets and then our own domestic fishing industry, populations
of once plentiful species have been reduced to historic lows. Further, species that are captured and
discarded as bycatch are threatened and endangered. Patterns of biological diversity, especially
species of economic importance, have been altered by intense fishing. Finally, habitats that support
diverse communities of organisms have been impacted both by fishing gear and the cascading effects
of predator removal and may reduce the probability of community recovery in general and populations
of economically important species in particular.
- The Northeast region produced commercial landings worth $1.098 billion in 1999, an increase of
$91 million over 1998. Landings were worth $1.009 billion 1998 and $1.000 billion in 1997.
- Total landings decreased to 636 thousand mt in 1999, a 12% decrease over 1998 levels and a 22%
decrease from the 1995 peak of 811 thousand metric tons (mt). Finfish landings (446 thousand mt)
decreased by 15% from 1998 figures, while shellfish landings (191 thousand mt) declined by 4% in 1999.
- American lobster was the most highly valued species and contributed 30% of the region's marine
resource value.
- Sea scallops remained the second most valued species.
- Landings of the region's "traditional" groundfish species (cod, haddock, and yellowtail
flounder) decreased from 17,600 in 1998 to 17,200 mt in 1999, a 400 mt decrease over 1998 and with
a value of only $44.4 million. The three "traditional" groundfish species accounted
for only 4% of total 1999 catch by value and just 3% by weight. Groundfish historically were the
most valued species (NOAA, 1998). Commercially significant groundfish and flounders have been
severely overfished; in 1994, their estimated overall abundance was the lowest on record, with an
abundance index only one-fifth that reported in 1963 (NOAA, 1996).
- In 1998, there were 3541 multispecies groundfish permits, 1934 scallop permits, and 3196 lobster
permits for federal waters (NMFS 2001).
This level of effort, especially from mobile gears, has had significant consequences regarding the
state of seafloor habitats in terms of spatial complexity, community structure, and ecosystem
processes. The need to designate essential fish habitat (EFH) within the context of the Sustainable
Fisheries Act of 1996, ascertain the effects of fishing on EFH, and develop management alternatives
to mitigate such effects has created a need for information that is not easily attainable with
traditional methods.
Marine Protected Areas
There is a growing movement to establish ecological reserves within the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, on
both U.S. and Canadian sides of the boundary. In part, this movement is fueled by the severely
depleted state of many economically important species with attendant economic consequences for
coastal communities, the inaction of fishery management agencies to directly address these problems,
high profile court actions aimed at correcting such problems, and a lack of attention to species and
habitats that are not of direct economic importance.
Coastal Development
Human utilization of the coastal region is increasing and demands on coastal resources will continue
to climb. Located right on the doorstep of the Center, the Long Island Sound (LIS) region is highly
populated (over 5 million people live within fifteen miles of the coast) and highly utilized for
both commercial and recreational purposes. There are over 248 miles of beaches along its shoreline
and 200,000 boats ply the waters of LIS. It is estimated that LIS supports a sport fishery valued at
$70 to $130 million annually, with over 750,000 recreational fisherman.
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