Determining the effect of Eastern Maine bottom currents on lobster gear groundlines from F/V Time-n-Tide NEC-LL2006-1 in the Gulf of Maine, off Jonesport, Maine from 2007-2007 (NEC_ProjDev project)

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<p><b>&quot;Determining the Effect of Eastern Maine Bottom Currents on Groundlines&quot;</b></p>
<p>This project sought to examine the effect of bottom currents on lobster gear in nearshore eastern Maine waters, to establish whether bottom currents there are strong enough to significantly reduce the profile of floating rope used as groundline between traps, thus reducing the risk of whale entanglements in lobster gear.<br />
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Assessment of the current meter data indicates that the current off Jonesport, Maine, where all the equipment was deployed, measured at the bottom of the ocean on level with the traps (1-2m off bottom), is often over 30 cm/sec and has little to no 'slack' period between tides. Analysis of the sensor data showed the floating groundlines at or below 2m (one fathom) of arc height over a 20 fathom length, and overall the measurements suggest that the flow of current is significantly stronger near the ocean bottom than anticipated, which would tend to depress the floating line more than would be estimated assuming much lower flows.</p>
<p>See <a href=\"http://nec.whoi.edu/pdf/Ludwig2006_groundlines_final.pdf\" target=\"blank\">final report</a></p>
<p>Associated dataset: <a href=\"http://whoicf.whoi.edu/science/bcodmo-admin/dataset.cfm?id=13781&amp;flag=view\" target=\"_blank\">Groundline rope height (m) above seafloor between lobster traps </a></p>