News Science Federal and State Agencies Team up to Collect Information on Fish Habitat in New England Coastal Waters |
Federal and State Agencies Team up to Collect Information on Fish Habitat in New England Coastal Waters |
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Ever wonder what unique features a codfish looks for in a home? A team of scientists from federal and state agencies and academic institutions hope to learn more about this when they explore various seafloor habitats where cod and a variety of other marine species live. On Monday, August 29, scientists begin a seven-day research survey cruise to collect information on the seafloor, sediment and underwater footage of bottom habitat in a historically significant fishing area known as Jeffreys Ledge.
Jeffreys Ledge is a 33-mile glacial deposit that extends from the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts to just southeast of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The shallow ledge is surrounded by deeper ocean waters. An oceanographic process known as upwelling occurs here that makes it a highly productive habitat. Upwelling involves a wind-driven motion, which brings dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface. As a result, the Ledge supports a diversity of life including herring and mackerel, cod, haddock, dogfish, flounder, bluefin tuna and a variety of crustaceans and mollusks, such as shrimp, lobsters, crabs, scallops, and clams, which all come to feed or reproduce here.
Read the complete story from NOAA Fisheries Service
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MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager
May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."
