The Role of Larval Dispersal from Rotating Closures in the Atlantic Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) Fishery

The Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fishery is the most valuable fishery in the U.S. This fishery has shown remarkable recovery from a severely overfished state in the early 1990s, possibly due to rotational fishery closures that have enhanced broodstock biomass that in turn may have led to elevated downstream recruitment. To examine the link between increased broodstock abundance and the potential for increased recruitment downstream, we performed simulations of larval dispersal dynamics and connectivity for the scallop stock using a circulation model (ROMS) coupled to an individual-based scallop larval model.  We will present the coupled model and the results of targeted hindcast simulations that allow us to test whether larvae from broodstock in closed areas had the potential to supply high recruitment events following closures. Larval dispersal patterns provide information pertinent to scallop management decisions such as frequency and duration of closures as well as the utility of extending rotational management to the rest of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Further, information about sea scallop connectivity in the Mid-Atlantic will assist development of metapopulation stock-recruit models, rather than a simple whole stock dynamic pool relationship.