Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

"Designing and Testing a Sublegal Lobster Sampling Trap"

P.I.: Robert Bayer

Master's Thesis by William Fike

The objective of this study was to design a trap to fill a gap in the collection of data concerning lobster abundance. The trap design should allow sublegal sized lobsters to enter the trap while excluding legal sized lobsters. It is believed that the larger legal sized lobsters inhibit the smaller lobsters from entering the traps and therefore these smaller sized lobsters are not represented in the data collected at this current time. Having the ability to base stock size estimates on smaller size lobsters will help individuals estimate future catch.

See final report

The data was entered into Microsoft Excel. All data that was recorded while at sea was transferred to a spreadsheet (See Appendix). Data was organized in Excel for the purpose of entering the data into the statistical program Systat. The Systat program was used to conduct an Analysis of Variance for analyzing each trap type: ventless, Fike 1, Fike 2, and Chalmers trap. The dependent variable was lobster carapace length (mm), with trap type, date, location, soak period, and number of crabs in trap as independent variable (Table 2). Insignificant main effects (P>.05) were removed and a reduced model was evaluated. Three variables, depth, bottom type, and catch, which is the number of lobsters caught in each trap, were found not significant and were removed. The Analysis of Variance was then run a second time, excluding these three variables (Table 3). Effects of trap type, soak period, number of crabs, and location on lobster size were included in a prediction equation (Table 4). A final model included significant main effects with interaction terms between main effects (Table 5). Results were presented graphically.

The Northeast Consortium encourages and funds cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank that have effective, equal partnerships among fishermen, scientists, educators, and marine resource managers.

Priority areas for Northeast Consortium funding include selective fishing-gear research and development. The development of selective fishing gears that enhance gear selectivity, target healthy stocks, reduce bycatch and discard, reduce or eliminate technical barriers to trade, minimize harvest losses, and improve fishing practices. Studies of new and developing fishing gears and technologies aimed at reducing environmental impact is funded under Project Development.

At the 2008 Maine Fisheremen's Forum, the Northeast Consortium organized a session on data collection and availability. Participants included several key organizations in the Gulf of Maine area, sharing what data are out there and how you can find them. 

The Northeast Consortium has joined the Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership. The purpose of the GoMODP is to promote and coordinate the sharing, linking, electronic dissemination, and use of data on the Gulf of Maine region.

The Northeast Consortium was created in 1999 to encourage and fund effective, equal partnerships among commercial fishermen, scientists, and other stakeholders to engage in cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The Northeast Consortium consists of four research institutions (University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), which are working together to foster this initiative.

The Northeast Consortium administers nearly $5M annually from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for cooperative research on a broad range of topics including gear selectivity, fish habitat, stock assessments, and socioeconomics. The funding is appropriated to the National Marine Fisheries Service and administered by the University of New Hampshire on behalf of the Northeast Consortium. Funds are distributed through an annual open competition, which is announced via a Request for Proposals (RFP). All projects must involve partnership between commercial fishermen and scientists.

The Northeast Consortium seeks to fund projects that will be conducted in a responsible manner. Cooperative research projects should be designed to minimize any negative impacts to ecosystems or marine organisms, and be consistent with accepted ethical research practices, including the use of animals and human subjects in research, scrutiny of research protocols by an institutional board of review, etc.