The Cap Log Group, LLC (CapLog) recently released two white papers examining the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery.
The first that finds that the number of active vessels in the New England groundfish fleet has been in decline since its peak in the 1980s. This paper suggests that, regardless of management measures, the regional fishing fleet "may be going through an adjustment process that will bring it into balance with available resources." However, it also argues that the sector structure may actually provide the Council, the regulators and the industry with more tools than they have had in the past for slowing this process of consolidation, if they so choose.
The second paper explores what factors will affect whether the fleet increases groundfish landings relative to previous years. It finds that the vessels that landed the most fish in 2007 hold higher amounts of abundant stocks and lesser amounts of limited stocks. It suggests that such vessels may be best positioned to increase landings in 2010 due to holdings of these abundant stocks. The paper identifies the home ports of New Bedford, Portland, Boston and Portsmouth as having the highest concentration of such vessels. It also lists the home ports (e.g., South Shore, Point Judith) with the highest concentration of vessels that may face the greatest difficulty in maintaining landings at previous levels.
For more information and to download the white papers, see <www.caploggroup.info/publications>.