Pilot Gillnet Survey of the Cashes Ledge Closed Area: fish catch data from F/V Shearwater NEC-KK2004-1 in the the Cashes Ledge Closed Area (CLCA) of the Gulf of Maine from April to August 2005 (NEC-CoopRes project)

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<h3>\"A Pilot Gillnet Survey of the Cashes Ledge Closed Area\"</h3>

<p><strong>Project Leader: </strong><em>Kevin Kelly, </em>Maine Department of Marine Resources<br />
<strong>Additional Participants:</strong><br />
<em>Mathew Thomson, </em>F/V Shearwater II, Monhegan Island, ME</p>

<p>\"The objective of this project is to test the use of gillnets to inventory fish populations in the Cashes Ledge Closed Area (CLCA) of the Gulf of Maine. The CLCA encompasses historically important fishing grounds which have been closed to groundfishing by federal regulation seasonally since 1999 and year round since 2002. Our purpose is to develop a methodology by which groundfish abundance can be regularly monitored in the CLCA. The expected outcome of the project will be a sampling methodology using gillnets that will minimize damage to bottom habitat and sample a variety of species and habitats effectively.</p>

<p>This project is needed to develop eventual long term standardized measures of relative abundance of groundfish in closed areas in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry. Maine DMR and Capt. Thomson were accepted for full funding for this work by Northeast Consortium (NEC) in response to the 2004 Request for Proposals for Project Development awards.\" <em>abstract from the Final Report to the Northeast Consortium</em></p>

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<em>revised Sept 01, 2006; gfh </em>
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