A spatial and temporal perspective on research and management of groundfish in the northwest Atlantic

Fish populations have been exploited along the northeastern coast of North America for over 500 years. During this period, an extensive knowledge of fish distributions and habitat has developed both as anecdotal and scientific literature. Despite this knowledge, catches and stocks have fluctuated widely. As a result of a large decline in the fish stocks that is primarily attributed to overfishing, the region is currently experiencing the implementation of extreme management initiatives to allow the exploited stocks to recover. As our scientific knowledge of fish populations increases, the question arises as to how we integrate our knowledge of fish and fishers, at multiple scales, and produce a management structure that maintains stocks at sustainable levels. This article addresses that question by reviewing patterns and processes exhibited by both fishers and fish through a hierarchy of temporal and spatial scales. Large‐scale population surveys, for example, document the persistence of patterns in the structure and geographic range of fish populations. In contrast to regional‐scale patterns in population structure, both fish and fishers interact and react at the scale of a fishing ground. Similarly, the large industrial fleets concentrate on aggregations of fish because the profitability of larger trawlers depends more on the concentration of the resource than the distance from the home port. Research has also demonstrated that fish distributions can be attributed to variability in small‐scale physical (i.e., habitat) features. The impact of fishing and the behavior of animals at the fishing ground and habitat scales is cumulative at the population level where current management plans operate. Management actions must, however, be considered not only at the population level, but also at smaller scales in order to have predictable effects. It is essential to integrate the different scales that operate throughout the fishery into a management scheme that incorporates both the perspective of the fishers and the targeted resource.