Review and Assessment of the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine Haddock Fishery

The Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine haddock resource and fishery is reviewed. Nominal catches for Georges Bank averaged 46,000 metric tons annually during 1935-60 and then increased to a peak of 150,000 tons in 1965 as Canadian and distant water (European) fleets entered the fishery. Catches subsequently declined to an average of 5,000 tons during 1974-76 under quota and incidental catch limitations and then increased rapidly to an average of 21,000 tons in 1978-79. Nominal catches for the Gulf of Maine averaged 5,000 tons during 1935-66, declined to less than 1,000 tons during 1972-74 and increased to an average of 5,000 tons in 1978-79. Minor recreational catches have also been reported from the western Gulf of Maine in recent years.