Impact of limited short-term sea scallop fishery on epibenthic community of Georges Bank closed areas

Abstract

On Georges Bank, 2 areas that had been closed to sea scallop fishing since 1994 were opened for a limited harvest from August 2000 to February 2001. The effects of this limited short-term fishery on the epibenthic community were examined using a 'before/after, control/impact' environ- mental design conducted with video surveys. A centric systematic survey with 1379 stations placed on a 1.57 km grid, with 4 video quadrats collected at each station (3.235 m 2 per quadrat equaling 17789 m 2 total sample area), was completed in 2 control and 2 impact areas before and after the fish- ery. The sea scallops Placopecten magellanicus and starfishes (primarily Asterias vulgaris) comprised more than 84% of the fauna. Changes in the number of taxonomic categories and the density of indi- viduals within each category in the areas impacted by the fishery were similar to changes in the con- trol areas that remained closed to fishing. Further, sediment composition shifted between surveys more than epibenthic faunal composition, suggesting that this community is adapted to a dynamic environment. The limited short-term sea scallop fishery on Georges Bank appeared to alter the epibenthic community less than the natural dynamic environmental conditions.