University Events

Description: Department of Fisheries Oceanography
PhD Dissertation Defense


Establishing a Sustainable Acadian Redfish Trawl Fishery in the Gulf of Maine: A Conservation Engineering Approach

By
Michael Pol

Advisor
Pingguo He


Tuesday, June 13, 2017
10:00 am


SMAST II, Room 157
200 Mill Road
Fairhaven, MA

The Acadian redfish Sebastes fasciatus stock is one of the few healthy fished populations in the Gulf of Maine. This stock recovered from decades of unsustainable exploitation in the mid-20th century after imposition of codend mesh size restrictions and a long period as a bycatch fishery. Current harvest levels are far below permitted levels, and therefore the stock potentially offers additional opportunity for regional fishermen. However, based on its history and unusual biology, re-establishment or expansion of the trawl fishery for redfish should be conducted with caution; to assure future sustainability, steps to encourage additional landings should include consideration of a wide range of aspects, including appropriate fishing gears, timing of seasons, processing, and marketing, as well as population dynamics. This dissertation sought to provide several vital conservation engineering or fishing technology inputs to a sustainable fishery in a stepwise fashion, beginning with identification of bycatch issues, codend selectivity, and bycatch reduction. This approach, combined with data from other sources, is adequate to inform careful decision making about increased exploitation of the stock.

for more information, please contact cfox@umassd.edu