Commercial Fishery Landings

Commercial fishing refers to the process of catching and marketing fish for sale and includes fisheries resources, fishers, and related businesses directly or indirectly involved in harvesting, processing, or sales.[23] The fishers involved in the commercial groundfishery in the Gulf of Maine use a variety of gear to pursue cod and other groundfish including otter trawls, gillnets, longlines and hook and line. Otter trawls constitute a majority of the commercial groundfish landings. In 2000, otter trawl vessels landed approximately 81% of the total groundfish landings, gillnet vessels landed approximately 14% of the total groundfish landings, bottom longline vessels landed approximately 2.4% of the total groundfish landings, and hook and line vessels landed approximately 1.6% of the total groundfish landings.[24]

The Gulf of Maine cod fishery can be divided into four periods based on trends in landings: 1893-1915, 1916-1940, 1941-1963, and 1964-present. Accurate catch records for cod begin in 1893 with the first reports of the U.S. Comission of Fish and Fisheries, more commonly known as the Fish Commission, the present day National Marine Fishery Service's direct ancestor.[25] The Fish Commission was formed in 1871 in reponse to concerns about unregulated fishing wiping out the stocks.

Prior to 1994 landings data was obtained by trip-level detailed recordings made on shore by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. In 1994, however, a regulation was passed requiring fishing captains to keep detailed logs of their catch and fishing areas. These logs are known as Vessel Trip Reports, or VTRs.

Commercial Landings from 1893-2000

1893-1915

Reliable landing statistics for cod are available since 1893. Between 1893 and 1915 commercial landings reached all-time high levels of over 17,000 mt in both 1895 and 1906. However these peaks were followed by sharply reduced landings until only approximately 5,000 mt of cod were landed 1915. Landings saw a general declining trend over the 22-year period between 1893 and 1915. World War I began in 1914 and may represent the decline in commercial landings around this time as fishers were called off to war in their schooners.

1916-1940

Landings increased for the first few years of this period and fluctuated until 1930 when they sharply dropped from approximately 11,500 mt to less than 6,000 mt. At this point they rebounded to their pervious levels and then dropped to less than 5,500 mt in 1940. Landings averaged approximately 8,000 mt per year for this period. World War I came to a close in 1918 which may be partly responsible for the surve in commercial landings starting in 1917 and continuing for the following few years. Near the end of this period World War II was getting dangerously near to begining, possibly contributing to the decline in landings in the late 1930s.

1941-1963

During the early 1940s landings increased to approximately 14,500 mt in 1945- the third most successful year since data was first collected in 1893. 1945 also happened to be the year that World War II ended, which brought back those fishers called off to fight. The sudden surge in commercial landings is most likely indicative of their treturn to fishing. Following this spike the landings rapidly declined, reaching a then-record low of approximately 2,600 mt in 1957.

1964-onward

Landings during this time period generally increased to approximately 14,000 mt in 1983 and then plummeted to approximately 7,500 mt in 1987. From there landings increased and reached a record level of approximately 17,800 mt in 1991. Since then the landings plummeted and reached an all-time low of approximately 1,600 mt in 1999. Total landings doubled to approximately 3,200 mt between 1964 and 1968, and then doubled onceto 6,400 mt again between 1968 and 1977.

All graphs by E. Brazer Jr.

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