Maintain the integrity of trawl survey and estuarine seine surveyoperations for marine fisheries research and management

The Department of Fish and Game Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) received a $1,746,684 Formula Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605). The purpose of this grant is to maintain long-term trawl and seine surveys to monitor the abundance, distribution, and habitat usage of important commercial and recreational marine fishery resources in Massachusetts coastal waters. Key products and services delivered through this funding include:

• Conducting a 45-year semiannual coastwide bottom trawl survey and a 48-year summer seine survey to collect fishery-independent data on coastal fish stocks. This data supports stock assessments and informs sustainable fisheries management decisions.
• Documenting habitat usage patterns to evaluate the potential impacts of coastal development projects on marine ecosystems under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

This grant award provides critical support for MA DMF's longstanding resource monitoring and conservation efforts, which are essential for maintaining the ecological integrity and recreational use of Massachusetts' marine fisheries.

By virtue of a continuous and consistentsampling strategy and measurement methods, updated biological records become more valuable, andadditional advantages will accrue. And, importantly, the core elements of survey design and samplinggear will remain consistent. In 1978, the massachusetts division of marine fisheries (MA DMF) began a program to monitorabundance of finfish, which are of major importance to recreational and commercial fishermen ofmassachusetts. The cornerstone of this effort is a semiannual coastwide bottom trawl survey, which hascontinued for 45 years. A secondary ongoing investigation is a summer seine survey (48 years) tomeasure relative yearclass strength of winter flounder. Because the assessment program has exceededma dmfs expectations in providing comprehensive resource abundance information for itsmanagement decisions, the program continues to be an agency priority. Longterm monitoring ofabundance and distribution of fishery resources using a consistent standardized protocol is of highimportance to resource managers. The primary sampling gear used on the MA DMF trawl survey hasbeen of the same design for the entire 45YEAR time series and the same research vessel has been usedsince 1982. While fishery dependent data may be difficult to interpret over time due to technologicaladvances that commercial fishermen have used to great effect, the consistency of the resourceassessment survey allows for comparisons in fishery independent catch observations over time. This isone of the longest running inshore trawl surveys in the united states and with each additional yearsobservation, the data record adds to its value. The MA DMF trawl survey complements the far rangingnmfs trawl survey. The designed station density is approximately 1 station per 19 squarenauticalmileswhich is a much higher level of coverage than offshore surveys, and with a more maneuverable vessel, the resource assessment survey can sample in areas, (IE: nantucket sound and buzzards BAY), which arenot practical for largerscale surveys with offshore vessels. The MA DMF trawl survey contributes fisheryindependent indices of abundance and biomass for assessing the population dynamics of many coastalfish stocks. The MA DMF trawl survey indices have proven reliable as indicators of population status formany fish stocks, and as such, have been synthesized into regionwide stock assessments. Ultimately, the stock assessment results advise managers within the state or regional fisheries managementorganizations on how best to manage fishery resources. Besides monitoring trends in abundance andbiomass of mature and juvenile fishes over time, the survey monitors the geographic distribution of fishresources and documents habitat usage within massachusettss territorial waters. Documentation ofhabitat usage is important when inshore alteration projects are proposed within the bounds of watersunder massachusetts jurisdiction. MA DMF inshore trawl survey data is considered in weighing themerits VS. Potential impacts of habitat alterations. In addition, the survey data has been used to evaluatethe conservation benefits of local fishery closures.