Seasonal Bycatch Survey of the Sea Scallop Access Areas on Georges Bank

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation dredge survey provides three years of valuable data on seasonal variability in scallop meat yield and flatfish bycatch in scallop access areas on Georges Bank. Thirty trips were made to scallop access areas Closed Area I (CAI) and Closed Area II (CAII) on Georges Bank every six weeks from March 2011 through March 2014. On each trip, stations were surveyed using two 4.57-meter-wide scallop dredges following standardized towing procedures. Generalized additive mixed models were used to investigate seasonal trends in meat weight and flatfish bycatch. Scallop meat weight was generally highest from April through June. Meat weight decreased in CAI over the time series. Yellowtail and windowpane flounder bycatch was greatest in CAII, whereas winter flounder catch was highest in CAI. Variation in flatfish catches suggest seasonally aggregated distributions for all three species. The results from this survey can inform management decisions concerning seasonal area closures as well as timing of the fishing season.