Project Title: Monitoring Marine Protected Areas: An Intensive Study of the Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area

Reporting Period: September 2002 - December 2002 (1st reporting period)

Project Coordinator: Andrew Rosenberg

Additional Investigators: David Berlinsky, James Byers, Andrew Cooper, Mark Dowell, Raymond Grizzle, Michael Lesser, Larry Mayer, Maggie Mooney-Seus, Jamie Pringle, Robert Robertson, Jeff Runge, Larry Ward

Fishing Industry Participants: David Goethal, Bob Hannah, Pete Kendall, Craig Mavrikis

Project Description:
This 2-year project seeks to initiate an ecosystem-level assessment of the Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area (WGoMCA) by examining biological, ecological and human social impacts of the closure. The focus initially will be on a 150 mi2 study area along the western boundary that includes areas within and adjacent to the closed area, thereby allowing a "closed vs. open" comparison of affected habitats (Figure 1). This assessment will rely heavily on the production of a series of detailed, GIS-produced maps based on the following techniques: satellite remote sensing of primary production, multibeam acoustic mapping of the seafloor, videographic imaging of bottom habitats, core sampling of sediments and benthos, fish tagging studies, trophic interactions studies, and genetic analysis of fish tissues. Maps based on these studies and other information such as characteristics of the study area derived from fishermen's knowledge will be combined with existing data to provide the initial steps in a longer-term assessment of the closure. An important emphasis for the project is collaboration with fishing industry representatives, including drawing on the knowledge of fishermen as well as using fishing vessels when possible as research platforms.

Major deliverables:

1. Maps from new data: primary production and temperature, fine scale seafloor shape and type, bottom habitats, predator-prey distribution and abundance, and cod populations
2. Maps from existing data: fishermen's knowledge of the area, government trawl surveys, and historical landings/catch reports.
3. Preliminary assessment of the relationship between groundfish and their habitats.
4. Preliminary assessment of ecosystem-level effects of the WGoMCA.
5. Social science research and evaluation plan (SSREP).
6. Development of metrics and indices for modeling the linkage among sampled and calculated variables in order to develop a more complete understanding of groundfish and other species’ habitat usage over time.

Accomplishments During the Reporting Period:
Substantial progress was made in several areas during the first quarter of the study. Datasets based on satellite imagery from 1997 (establishment of WGoMCA) through 2001 were secured and various time series analyses were initiated. Initial results indicate a decreasing trend in chlorophyll biomass at four stations. Perhaps more significantly, however, has been a persistent decrease over the five-year period of the amplitude of both the spring and fall blooms. Four monthly images for 2001 are shown below (Figure 1) illustrating the seasonal variability in chlorophyll biomass. The first groundtruthing cruises are planned for spring 2003.

As of 23 December 2002, multibeam coverage of the seafloor had been obtained for 20% of the survey area. It is anticipated that complete coverage will be achieved in early January 2003. Significant work has also been completed on development of new techniques to automatically and objectively segment acoustic seafloor data into regions that have relevance to habitat. A total of twenty (20) cruises was completed using two fishing vessels (Pete Kendall's Miss Alicia and Craig Mavrikis' Marion Mae) to conduct box core sampling of sediments and benthos. Approximately 150 sites were visited and sampled in the study area (Figure 2). Laboratory analyses of these samples is in progress. A new underwater video camera system (Figure 3) was successfully tested on four cruises, providing imagery useful for characterizing bottom habitats, including semi-quantitative density estimates for some species. The new camera system should be fully operational in spring 2003.

Over 300 cod have been sampled thus far. Ovarian samples were subjected to routine histological procedures and analyzed for stage of reproductive development. Microsatellite analysis is currently underway to distinguish genetic differences between fish from the different spawning populations and different geographic locations. Predator-prey interaction experiments, including new prey tethering/video devices, were designed and will be initiated in spring 2003.

Scoping meetings were held to refine the approach to be used to gather and assess existing data. In addition, collection of historical fisheries landings data and government records was initiated. Preliminary interviews also were conducted with former and current fishermen from Gloucester to begin to identify key fishing locales. Data collected through these and other efforts will be used to develop an in-person survey to be conducted with fishermen along coastal Maine, New Hampshrie and Northern Massachusetts to identify primary fishing areas. This ultimately will be overlaid with government survey (federal and state) data, fishermen’s catch reports and historic government records to better assess species’ habitats in the study area.

Initial activities on the SSREP have focused on the identification of stakeholder groups and a preliminary analysis of available information on specific stakeholder groups.

Future Work
All six deliverables described above are still in progress. Most of the new maps (deliverables 1 and 2) will be produced during the remainder of year 1. Work during year 2 will focus on tasks associated with completing maps and conducting syntheses of the new information (deliverables 3 and 4), as well as development of the social component of the project (deliverable 5). Work during this first reporting period has already yielded important new connections between scientists and fishing industry representatives that should facilitate future work.

Significance of the Project
The world's oceans are being mapped at an increasing rate with primary reliance on acoustic methods (particularly multibeam sonar) for the seabed and satellite-based sensing for near surface features. The resulting maps provide unprecedented detail on spatial variations but they require ground-truthing by other methods (e.g. underwater videography) to insure accuracy and to facilitate interpretation of the mapped features. Geographic Information System (GIS) software has become a major tool for displaying and assessing these kinds of remotely sensed data, and is a rapidly developing tool. The present project represents an unusually intensive multidisciplinary effort to apply a suite of new approaches to mapping the ocean. Some of the new maps (e.g. high resolution multibeam bathymetry) will in themselves be used for purposes beyond the present study. In combination, the maps projected to result from the present study will provide an unusually complete picture of ecosystem-level functioning of an important area in the Gulf of Maine, including an initial multivariate assessment of the effects of the WGoMCA on fish habitat and managed fisheries.