NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/NEC-39

This TM series is used for documentation and timely communication of

preliminary results. interim reports, or special purpose information, and

has not received complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed

editing.

USA Historical Catch Data, 1904-82,

for Major Georges Bank Fisheries

Anne M. T. Lange and Joan E. Palmer

Woods Hole Lab., National Marine Fisheries Serv., Woods Hole, MA 02543

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Malcolm Baldridge, Secretary

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Anthony J. Calio, Acting Administrator

National Marine Fisheries Service

William G. Gordon, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

Northeast Fisheries Center

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

May 1985.
NOAA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NMFS-F/NEC

Under the National Marine Fisheries Service's mission to "Achieve a

continued optimum utilization of living resources for the benefit of the

Nation," the Northeast Fisheries Center (NEFC) is responsible for planning,

developing, and managing multidisciplinary programs of basic and applied

research to: (-1) better understand the living marine resources (including

marine mammals) of the Northwest Atlantic, and the environmental quality

essential for their existence and continued productivity; and (2) describe and

provide to management, industry, and the public, options for the utilization

and conservation of living marine resources and maintenance of environmental

quality which are consistent with national and regional goals and needs, and

with international commitments.

The timely need for such information by decision makers often precludes

publication in formal journals. The NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/NEC

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Copies of this and other NOAA Technical Memorandums are available from

the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield,

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below:
ABSTRACT

United States historical catch data for major finfish and

invertebrate species taken in the Georges Bank area during 1904 to

1982 are presented. Schemes used to prorate catch data to Georges

Bank, in years when catch was not reported specifically for that

area, are described.
INTRODUCTION

This document presents USA historical catch data for major finfish

and invertebrate species taken in the Georges Bank area. The period

covered is 1904-1982. Data for each species are from various sources,

as described. Schemes used to apportion catches reported from major

fishery areas to Georges Bank (NAFO - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries

Organization Division 5Ze) for years prior to establishment of the

current statistical areas, are also described. All data are for the USA

only, and are expressed as nominal catch (the live weight equivalent of

the landings) in metric tons. 

HISTORICAL DATA SOURCES, BY SPECIES

The species and species groups covered in this report are cod

(Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), pollock (Pollachius

virens) , silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), yellowtail flounder (Limanda

ferruginea) , all other flounders, mackerel (Scomber scombrus), sea scallops

(Plaeopeeten magellanicus) and all other species not reported separately.

Catch data were not reported by the smaller geographical areas (NAFO

Divisions) for the entire time series (1904-82), therefore, for most years

Georges Bank catches were estimated using data for years when NAFO Divisions

were available.

Figure 1 is a chart of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization

(NAFO) subareas and divisions used here. In general, NAFO Subareas 5 and 6

(SA5, SA6) define the area off the northeastern USA; Division 5Y denotes

the Gulf of Maine, Division 5Ze Georges Bank, Division 5Zw Southern New

England, and Subarea 6 the Mid-Atlantic. Figure 2 shows the locations of

the USA statistical areas used currently. These statistical areas may be

grouped to correspond to NAFO areas and divisions.

Table 1 provides details of the data sources and proration schemes

used for each species and time series. To reduce duplication in the

description of the data sources, an index number is provided (in parentheses)

with each time/area series. This number corresponds to the item number in

the “References” section, Sources and comments regarding reported data are

presented first, in chronological order, progressing from the subareas to

the divisions. Proration schemes used to estimate catches in the divisions

follow the reported data.

Table 2 provides the final reported and estimated catch data for

Georges Bank, by major species or species groups described above for 1904-82.

Figures 3-12 present plots of the Table 2 catch data by species and species

groups.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank those individuals from the

Resource Assessment Division of the Northeast Fisheries Center who

provided assistance in compiling and checking the data for the various

species presented here. We would especially like to thank Dr. S. Clark

and Mr. R. Mayo for their special efforts in assuring the correctness

of this data.

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REFERENCES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

ICNAF Second Annual Report for the year 1951-52, Part 4. Statistics

of Landings of Groundfish in the Convention Area, by Subarea.

Fisheries Statistics of the United States, Statistical Digest No. 49,

1958. Section 13, Historical Fishery Statistics.

Northeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service,

unpublished Division 5Y and 5Z cod data (E. Heyerdahl).

ICNAF and NAFO Annual Statistical Bulletin Series. Tables summarized

by division and species, 1952-82.

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, Annual Statistical Bulletins, 1904-35, and

Fishery Statistics of the United States, Statistical Digest Series.

Fisheries Statistics of the United States, Statistical Digest No. 59,

1965. Historical Fisheries Statistics.

Fishery Statistics of the United States, Statistical Digest Series,

Annual Volumes.

Fisheries of the United States, Current Fisheries Statistics,

Preliminary Volumes, 1977-1982.

Hennemuth, R. C. 1969. Status of the Georges Bank Haddock Fishery.

ICNAF Res. Doc. 69/90, Ser. No. 2256, 21 p.

NEFC, NMFS unpublished Division 5Y haddock data (Dreyer).

Fishery Industries of the United States, 1927. Bureau of Fisheries,

Document No. 1050.

Fritz, R. L. 1964. A review of the Atlantic coast whiting fishery.

Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries.

Almeida, F. P., and E. D. Anderson. 1979. Status of the silver hake

resources off the northeast coast of the United States, 1979.

NMFS, NEFC, Lab. Ref. Doc. 79-48.

Brown, B. E., and R. C. Hennemuth. Assessment of the yellowtail

flounder fishery in Subarea 5. ICNAF Res. Doc. 71/14.

Lux, F. E. 1969. Landings per unit effort, age composition and total

mortality of yellowtail flounder, Limanda ferruginea (Storer), off

New England. ICNAF Res. Bull. No. 6.

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16. Fisheries Statistics of the United States, Statistical Digest No. 56,

1962, Section 12, Historical Fishery Statistics.

17. Sette, O. E., and A. W. H. Needler. 1934. Statistics of the mackerel

fishery off the east coast of North America, 1804-1930. Bureau of

Fisheries, Investigational Report No. 19, Vol. 1, Table 27, p. 27.

18. Serchuk, F., P. Wood, and R. Rak. 1982. Review and assessment of

the Georges Bank, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf of Maine Atlantic sea

scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) resources. NMFS, NEFC Lab.

Ref. Doc. No. 82-06, 132 p.

19. Lyles, C. H. 1969. Historical catch statistics (shellfish). U.S.

Fish. Wildl. Serv., Comm. Fish. Statistics No. 5007, 116 p.

20. Caddy, J. 1975. Spacial model for an exploited shellfish population

and its application to the Georges Bank scallop fishery. J. Fish.

Res. Board Can. 32:1305-1328.

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Table 1. Data sources and proration schemes used to determine the historical (1904-82) USA

nominal catches from Georges Bank, NAFO Division 5Ze.

(a) All catches have been converted to live weight using the current conversion factor of 1.17.

(B) 5Y was obtained by subtracting Division 5Z catches from Subarea 5.

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Table 1 (cont’d)

Species of Data reported Proration

species group or estimated Area Years scheme References

(c) Total New England and Middle Atlantic states only.

(d) Data are not available for silver hake catches prior to 1937.

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Table 1 (cont’d)

Species or Data reported Proration

species group or estimated Area Years scheme References

le) Data are not available for yellowtail flounder catches prior to 1935.

(f) Includes yellowtail flounder.

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Table 1 (cont’d)

Species or Data reported

species group or estimated Area Years

Proration

scheme References

(G) Meat weight to live weight conversion factor is 8.33.

(h) Includes all species not reported separately in Table 1.

(i) Total nominal catch was determined by adding all species and species

group catches as presented in Table 2 with sea scallop catches

expressed as meat weights, for each year. These data are plotted

in Figure 12.

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Table 2. Historical (1904-82) USA nominal catches from Georges Bank NAFO Division 5Ze, in

thousands of metric tons live weight (except sea scallops).

SILVER YELLOW- FLOUNDER SEA ALL

YEAR COD HADDOCK POLLOCK HAKE TAIL (NS) MACKEREL SCALLOPS OTHER TOTAL

1

Sea scallops are expressed in meat weights, where the meat to live weight conversion factor is 8.33.

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Figure 1. Subareas and divisions of the Northwest Atlantic

Fisheries Organization (NAFO).

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Figure 2. USA Statistical areas used for reporting fisheries data.

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Figure 3. Nominal USA catch of cod from Georges Bank, 1904-1982.

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Figure 4. Nominal USA catch of haddock from Georges Bank, 1904-1982.

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Figure 5. Nominal USA catch of pollock from Georges Bank, 1904-1982.

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Figure 6. Nominal USA catch of silver hake from Georges Bank,

1937-1982.

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YELLOWTAIL FLOUNDER

YEAR

Figure 7. Nominal USA catch of yellowtail flounder from Georges Bank,

1935-1982.

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FLOUNDER (NS)

Figure 8. Nominal USA catch of other flounder from Georges Bank,

1915-1982.

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ATLANTIC MACKEREL

Figure 9. Nominal USA catch of mackerel from Georges Bank, 1904-1982.

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SEA SCALLOPS

Figure 10. Nominal USA catch of sea scallops from Georges Bank,

1940-1982, in meat weight, where the meat to live

weight conversion factor is 8.33.

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ALL OTHER SPECIES

Figure 11. Nominal USA catch of other fish from Georges Bank,

1904-1982.

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TOTAL

Figure 12. Total nominal USA catch from Georges Bank, 1904-1982.

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