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Gulf of Maine cod in 1861: historical analysis of fishery logbooks, with ecosystem implications
Author(s) -
Alexander Karen E.,
Leavenworth William B.,
Cournane Jamie,
Cooper Andrew B.,
Claesson Stefan,
Brennan Stephen,
Smith Gwynna,
Rains Lesley,
Magness Katherine,
Dunn Reneé,
Law Tristan K.,
Gee Robert,
Jeffrey Bolster W.,
Rosenberg Andrew A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
fish and fisheries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.747
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1467-2979
pISSN - 1467-2960
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2009.00334.x
Subject(s) - gadus , fishery , marine ecosystem , fishing , abundance (ecology) , bay , atlantic cod , ecosystem , marine conservation , pelagic zone , gadidae , geography , fisheries management , oceanography , population , marine protected area , environmental science , ecology , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , habitat , demography , archaeology , geology , sociology
Abstract Since 2000, virtually every major assessment of ocean policy has called for implementing an ecosystem approach to managing marine resources, yet crafting such an approach has proved difficult. Ecosystems today exhibit little of the abundance and complexity found in the past, and populations of over‐fished species have declined dramatically world‐wide, yet historical evidence has been difficult to assimilate into complex ecosystem models. Here, we look to the testimony of Gulf of Maine fishermen for insights on the abundance of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) and the environment that once supported such large numbers of them. Using logbook data from Frenchman’s Bay, Maine, and other New England communities at the time of the Civil War, we estimate cod landings in the Gulf of Maine in 1861, establish a population structure for cod at that time, and map the geographical distribution of fishing effort of a fleet that minimized risk and cut expenses by fishing inshore where cod and bait species were plentiful. Log entries list the pelagic and bottom‐dwelling invertebrate species these fishermen used for bait, when and how they acquired it, and what species they looked for in the water to signify the presence of cod. Ranked descriptions of both cod and bait abundance were found to be statistically significant indicators of cod catch. Frenchman’s Bay fishermen 140 years ago provided a minimum set of ecosystem requirements for abundant cod, conditions that may inform management plans aimed at restoring both the species and the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem.