### Fish Pop calcs_10.22.09.xls

Author: Abt Associates Inc. Created: 10/22/09

Worksheet Description N. and Mid-Atlantic estimates current fish pouplatioon size and maximum population size based on available data and biomass per fish conversion factors Purpose: Estimate current fish population size and maximum fish population size based on biomass maximum sustainable yield

File Info 1 of 13Available Fish Biomass Data for Affected Species

Species Region Year Comm&Rec Landing Biomass Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Year Spawning Stock Biomass Winter Flounder George's Bank 2005 2,200 mt 4,850,089 1.2 4,184,719 2005 4,324 Winter Flounder Southern New EnglandMid Atlantic 2005 1,320 mt 2,910,054 1.2 2,510,831 2007 3,368 Winter Flounder Gulf of Maine 2006 550,000 lbs 550,000 1.2 474,547 2004 3,400 Summer Flounder Atlantic Coast 2007 19,970,000 lbs 19,970,000 2007 95,600,000 Atlantic Croacker Mid-Atlantic 2005 32,600,000 lbs 32,600,000 2004 80,000 Weakfish Atlantic Coast 2007 640 mt 1,410,935 3.4 418,365 2007 7,236 Striped Bass Atlantic Coast (Maine to N Carolina) 2004 15,164 mt 33,430,342 3.8 8,705,818 2004 24,900 Atlantic Cod Gulf of Maine 2005 3,909 mt 8,617,727 2.0 4,415,725 2004 20,549 **Spawning stock biomass (SSB) defined as "The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental conditions." Source: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/techniques/tech_terms .html#tt14



### N. and Mid-Atlantic 2 of 13Available Fish Biomass Data for Affected Species

Species Region Winter Flounder George's Bank Winter Flounder Southern New EnglandMid Atlantic Winter Flounder Gulf of Maine Summer Flounder Atlantic Coast Atlantic Croacker Mid-Atlantic
Weakfish Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Atlantic Coast (Maine to N Carolina) Atlantic Cod Gulf of Maine **Spawning stock biomass (SSB) defined as "The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental conditions." Source: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/techniques/tech_terms .html#tt14 Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Overfished? Biomass Corr to MSY Original

Units mt 9,532,630 1.2 8,224,874 no/yes 9,400 mt mt 7,425,046 1.2 6,406,424 yes 38,761 mt mt 7,495,592 1.2 6,467,292 no 4,100 mt Total NA and MA pop 21,098,591 lbs 95,600,000 no 132,400,000 lbs mt 176,366,880 no 28932 mt mt 15,952,384 3.4 4,730,138 no 17009 mt mt 54,894,191 3.8 14,295,362 no 17509 mt mt 45,302,038 2.0 23,212,773 yes 82830 mt 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 3 of 13Available Fish Biomass Data for Affected Species

Species Region Winter Flounder George's Bank Winter Flounder Southern New EnglandMid Atlantic Winter Flounder Gulf of Maine Summer Flounder Atlantic Coast Atlantic Croacker Mid-Atlantic
Weakfish Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Atlantic Coast (Maine to N Carolina) Atlantic Cod Gulf of Maine **Spawning stock biomass (SSB) defined as "The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental conditions." Source: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/techniques/tech_terms .html#tt14 99.04047021 Note Bmsy (lbs) Bmsy (fish) Minimum Biomass Threshold Percent of Target 20,723,453 24,018,483 4,200 46 Bmsy previously 38761 based on ASMFC; adjusted to 30,100 based on NOAA NEFSC (2006) for consistency among all stocks 85,453,377 99,040,470 9 9,038,953 10,476,147 83 Total 115,215,783 133,535,100 15.80% 66,200,000 72 20,252 277 13,108 43 14,016 142

25 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 4 of 13Available Fish Biomass Data for Affected Species

Species Region Winter Flounder George's Bank Winter Flounder Southern New EnglandMid Atlantic Winter Flounder Gulf of Maine Summer Flounder Atlantic Coast Atlantic Croacker Mid-Atlantic
Weakfish Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Atlantic Coast (Maine to N Carolina) Atlantic Cod Gulf of Maine **Spawning stock biomass (SSB) defined as "The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental conditions." Source: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/techniques/tech_terms .html#tt14
Units Percent of Threshold Source % of BMSY 103 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/winter/ % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/winter/ ; http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/winterFlounder/ winterFlounderProfile.pdf % of BMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/winter/ % of SSBMSY 144 http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/sfScupBSB/su mmerflounder/sFlounderProfile.pdf % of SSBMSY 395 http://www.asmfc.org/
% of SSBMSY 55 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/SAW-Public/SARC-48-pdfs/Weakfish/new/Old-C2-Weakf2009%20Assess%20Summ%20Rpt-5%2018%2009.pdf % of SSBMSY 178 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/af/sbass/ % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/pg/cod/ 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 5 of 13Species Region Year Comm&Rec Landing Biomass Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Year Spawning Stock Biomass Atlantic Cod George's Bank and Areas to South 2005 3,048 mt 6,719,578 2.0 3,443,113 2004 22,564 Atlantic Mackerel Northwest Atlantic between Labrador and North Carolina 2004 54,191 mt 119,468,720 0.7 169,051,511 2004 2,300,000 Additional Species (Not in Report) Atlantic Herring Gulf of Maine - George's Bank and Scotian Shelf 2005 109,000 mt 240,299,874 2006 1,040,000 Atlantic Menhaden Atlantic Coast (FL to Nova Scotia) 2005 185,100 mt 408,068,869 Bluefish Atlantic Coast 2005 10,400 mt 22,927,694 1.978199085 11,590,186 2004 104,136 Spanish Mackerel Atlantic Coast 2004 5,500,000 lbs 5,500,000 2001-2002 24,000,000 American Plaice Gulf of Maine to George's Bank 2004 1,711 mt 3,772,047 2004 14,149 Atlantic Butterfish (aka American Butterfish) Atlantic Coast (Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras) 2005 432 mt 952,381 0.663100255 1,436,255 2002 8,700 Spiny Dogfish Western North Atlantic from Labrador to Florida 2005 1,100 mt 2,425,045 2006 106,000

Tilefish Nova Scotia to South America (abundant from southern New Eng. to Mid-Atalantic) 2004 1,215 mt 2,678,572 2005 6,768 White Hake Newfoundland to Southern New England 2004 3,600.00 mt 7,936,510 2004 3.01 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 6 of 13Species Region

Atlantic Cod George's Bank and Areas to South Atlantic Mackerel Northwest Atlantic between Labrador and North Carolina Additional Species (Not in Report) Atlantic Herring Gulf of Maine - George's Bank and Scotian Shelf Atlantic Menhaden Atlantic Coast (FL to Nova Scotia) Bluefish Atlantic Coast Spanish Mackerel Atlantic Coast American Plaice Gulf of Maine to George's Bank Atlantic Butterfish (aka American Butterfish) Atlantic Coast (Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras) Spiny Dogfish Western North Atlantic from Labrador to Florida

Tilefish Nova Scotia to South America (abundant from southern New Eng. to Mid-Atalantic) White Hake Newfoundland to Southern New England Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Overfished? Biomass Corr to MSY Original

Units mt 49,744,279 2.0 25,488,978 yes 217000 mt mt 5,070,547,800 0.7 7,174,964,003 no 644000 mt mt 2,292,769,440 no 629000 mt no mt 229,576,768 1.978199085 116,053,419 no 147052 mt fish no mt 31,192,687 yes 28600 mt mt 19,179,898 0.663100255 28,924,583 22798 mt mt 233,686,116 no no target currently in place mt 14,920,638 no 9400 mt kg/tow yes 7.7 kg/tow 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 7 of 13Species Region

Atlantic Cod George's Bank and Areas to South Atlantic Mackerel Northwest Atlantic between Labrador and North Carolina Additional Species (Not in Report) Atlantic Herring Gulf of Maine - George's Bank and Scotian Shelf Atlantic Menhaden Atlantic Coast (FL to Nova Scotia) Bluefish Atlantic Coast Spanish Mackerel Atlantic Coast American Plaice Gulf of Maine to George's Bank Atlantic Butterfish (aka American Butterfish) Atlantic Coast (Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras) Spiny Dogfish Western North Atlantic from Labrador to Florida

Tilefish Nova Scotia to South America (abundant from southern New Eng. to Mid-Atalantic) White Hake Newfoundland to Southern New England Note Bmsy (lbs) Bmsy (fish) Minimum Biomass Threshold Percent of Target 10

357 314,500 165
324,194,166 641,320,602 73,526 71

49 38 100,000

72 3.35 39 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 8 of 13Species Region

Atlantic Cod George's Bank and Areas to South Atlantic Mackerel Northwest Atlantic between Labrador and North Carolina Additional Species (Not in Report) Atlantic Herring Gulf of Maine - George's Bank and Scotian Shelf Atlantic Menhaden Atlantic Coast (FL to Nova Scotia) Bluefish Atlantic Coast Spanish Mackerel Atlantic Coast American Plaice Gulf of Maine to George's Bank Atlantic Butterfish (aka American Butterfish) Atlantic Coast (Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras) Spiny Dogfish Western North Atlantic from Labrador to Florida

Tilefish Nova Scotia to South America (abundant from southern New Eng. to Mid-Atalantic) White Hake Newfoundland to Southern New England Units Percent of Threshold Source % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/pg/cod/ % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/pp/mackerel/
% of SSBMSY 331 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/pp/herring/ http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/menhaden/men hadenProfile.pdf % of BMSY 142 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/op/bluefish/ http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/southAtlanticSp ecies/spanishmackerel/speciesProfile0704.pdf % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/plaice/ % of BMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/op/butter/ 106 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/op/dogfish/

% of BMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/og/tile/ % of BMSY 90 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/og/hake/ 

### N. and Mid-Atlantic 9 of 13Species Region Year Comm&Rec Landing Biomass Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Year Spawning Stock Biomass Redfish (aka Acadian redfish) Gulf of Maine, George's Bank, and Great South Channel 2005 600 mt 1,322,752 2004 175,800 Yellowtail Flounder George's Bank 2005 4,200 mt 9,259,261 2005 5,400 Yellowtail Flounder Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine 2005 700 mt 1,543,210 2004 1,000 Yellowtail Flounder Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic 2005 100 mt 220,459 Witch Flounder (Gray Sole) Gulf of Maine - George's Bank to Cape Hatteras 2005 2,600 mt 5,731,924 2004 21,175 Spotted Seatrout Maryland to FL



### N. and Mid-Atlantic 10 of 13Species Region

Redfish (aka Acadian redfish) Gulf of Maine, George's Bank, and Great South Channel Yellowtail Flounder George's Bank Yellowtail Flounder Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine Yellowtail Flounder Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Witch Flounder (Gray Sole) Gulf of Maine - George's Bank to Cape Hatteras Spotted Seatrout Maryland to FL Original Units Lbs Conversion Factor (from lbs to # of fish) # of fish Overfished? Biomass Corr to MSY Original

Units mt 387,566,219 no 236700 mt mt 11,904,764 yes 58800 mt mt 2,204,586 yes 12600 mt yes 64500 mt mt 46,682,109 no 25248 mt yes



### N. and Mid-Atlantic 11 of 13Species Region

Redfish (aka Acadian redfish) Gulf of Maine, George's Bank, and Great South Channel Yellowtail Flounder George's Bank Yellowtail Flounder Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine Yellowtail Flounder Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Witch Flounder (Gray Sole) Gulf of Maine - George's Bank to Cape Hatteras Spotted Seatrout Maryland to FL Note Bmsy (lbs) Bmsy (fish) Minimum Biomass Threshold Percent of Target 74 29,400 9

8

84

Atlantic Coast Mean 84 N. Atlantic Mean 61 Mid-Atlantic Mean 104



### N. and Mid-Atlantic 12 of 13Species Region

Redfish (aka Acadian redfish) Gulf of Maine, George's Bank, and Great South Channel Yellowtail Flounder George's Bank Yellowtail Flounder Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine Yellowtail Flounder Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Witch Flounder (Gray Sole) Gulf of Maine - George's Bank to Cape Hatteras Spotted Seatrout Maryland to FL Units Percent of Threshold Source % of BMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/pg/redfish/#tab1 % of BMSY 18 http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/yellotail/ % of BMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/yellotail/ http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/yellotail/ % of SSBMSY http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/witch/ http://www.asmfc.org/ % % %



### N. and Mid-Atlantic 13 of 13