Application of Seasonal Closures to Reduce Flatfish Bycatch in the U.S. Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Journal of Shellfish Research

The U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery has a bycatch allocation of Georges Bank yellowtail flounder that has in some cases limited the ability of the scallop fleet to fully optimize harvest of the scallop allocation. One strategy used to mitigate bycatch in the Georges Bank sea scallop fishery is time/area closures of scallop access areas. The original access area closure period, established in 1999, ran from February 1 through June 15, and it was primarily based on historical yellowtail spawning data at a broad spatial resolution. Beginning in 2011, data on yellowtail bycatch rates in the scallop fishery were collected during a dedicated seasonal bycatch survey in and around the scallop access areas of Closed Area I and Closed Area II on Georges Bank. Examination of seasonal trends in this data resulted in managers eliminating seasonal closures starting in 2013 in the Nantucket Lightship and Closed Area I access areas, and changing the dates for the seasonal closure in the Closed Area II access area to August 15 through November 15. This cooperative, fishery-independent seasonal bycatch survey has been an effective tool for monitoring seasonal variability in bycatch and informing time/area closures. Grant no. NA11NMF4540021 Grant no. NA12NMF4540034 Grant no. NA13NMF4540011