One of the most exciting things about this past year’s work has been that we now have enough data to say that areas closed to fishing in the Gulf of Maine, such as Cashes Ledge, may be contributing to the rebuilding of groundfish stocks. These areas support high abundances of cod, haddock, and other groundfish species. A study we conducted on lobster predation found that while smaller lobsters tend to be consumed in-shore, the medium-sized and larger lobsters are consumed more heavily in offshore closures, indicating that these closed areas may be a good refuge for predators such as cod. However, our results suggest that the cod stocks that are being rebuilt within closures may be slower growing and less mobile than the cod that are typically harvested in the Gulf of Maine. We’ve also worked on the development of a tool to analyze how fishing gear impacts seafloor habitats, which will hopefully enable managers to minimize these impacts in the future.

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