A Draft Final Report Submitted to the Northeast Consortium

The effectiveness of fisheries management is limited by the paucity of information on how management tools, such as marine protected areas, impact key fisheries species. In the Gulf of Maine, more information is needed to determine how marine protected areas such as the Cashes Ledge Closure Area influence fish population dynamics and subsequently the status of fishery stocks. We utilized video surveys and multibeam sonar to quantify current habitats on Cashes Ledge. We also conducted seasonal surveys in 2006 and 2007 on the kelp, barren cobble, and mud habitats in the vicinity of Cashes Ledge using video, trap, and gill net sampling to quantify how habitat influences the abundance and distribution of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. Seasonal surveys identified that cod are still abundant on Cashes Ledge; however, their spatial and temporal distribution on Cashes Ledge is influenced by habitat and other species such as spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthius. These results are being compared with historic cod datasets that were collected prior to the inception of the closure, and predate extensive harvesting on Cashes Ledge in the early 1990's, to determine if cod populations have recovered locally. Quantifying important ecosystem functions such as the provision of nursery habitat for commercially important fish species will assist managers in selecting the most appropriate areas for management action. This study also provides baseline information that will be of value to ongoing efforts to monitor the impact of the Cashes Ledge Closure Area on rebuilding cod populations.