Red hake, Urophycis chuss, is a demersal
gadoid species distributed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to North
Carolina, and is most abundant from the western Gulf of Maine
through Southern New England waters. Red hake are separated into
northern and southern stocks for management purposes. The northern
stock is defined as the Gulf of Maine to Northern Georges Bank
region, while the southern stock is defined as the Southern Georges
Bank to Mid-Atlantic Bight region (Figure
5.1). Both red hake stocks were last assessed in the fall
of 1990.
Red hake migrate seasonally, preferring temperatures
between 5 and 12° C (41-54° F) (Grosslein and Azarovitz
1982). During the spring and summer months,
red hake move into shallower waters to spawn, and during the winter
months move offshore to deep waters in the Gulf of Maine and the
edge of the continental shelf along Southern New England and Georges
Bank.Spawning occurs from Maythrough November, with primary spawning grounds
on the southwest part of Georges Bank and in the Southern New
England area off Montauk Point, Long Island (Colton and Temple
1961).
Red hake do not grow as large as white hake, and normally reach
a maximum size of 50 cm (20 in.) and 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) (Musick 1967).
However, females are generally larger than males of the same age,
and reach a maximum length of 63 cm (25 in.) and a weight of 3.6
kg (7.9 lbs.) (Collette and Klein-MacPhee eds. 2002). Although
they generally do not live longer than 8 years, red hake have
been recorded up to 14 years old. In the northern stock, the age
at 50% maturity is 1.4 years for males and 1.8 years for females,
and the size at 50% maturity is 22 cm (8.7 in.) for males and
27 cm (10.6 in.) for females (O’Brien et al. 1993). In the
southern red hake stock, the age at 50% maturity is 1.8 years
for males and 1.7 years for females, and the size at 50% maturity
is 24 cm (9.5 in.) for males and 25 cm (9.8 in.) for females (O’Brien
et al. 1993).
Red hake prefer soft sand or muddy bottom, and feed primarily
on crustaceans such as euphausiids, decapods, and rock crabs as
well as fish such as haddock, silver hake, sea robins, sand lance,
mackerel and small red hake (Bowman et al. 2000). Primary predators
of red hake include spiny dogfish, cod, goosefish, and silver
hake (Rountree 1999). As juveniles, red hake seek shelter from
predators in scallop beds, and are commonly found in the mantle
cavities of (or underneath) sea scallops. In the fall, red hake
likely leave the safety of the scallop beds due to their increasing
size and to seek warmer temperatures in offshore waters (Steiner
et al. 1982).
Following the arrival of distant-water
fleets in the early 1960s, total landings from both stocks combined
peaked at 113,600 mt in 1966 (Figure
5.2
[Fig 5.2 Data]). Annual landings then declined sharply to 12,900
mt in 1970, increased to 76,400 mt in 1972, and then declined steadily
with increased restrictions on distant-water fishing effort. Prior
to implementation of the Magnuson Fisheries Conservation and Management
Act (MFCMA) in 1977, distant-water fleets accounted for approximately
80-90% of the total landings from both stocks. Between 1977 and
1986, landings generally declined due to restrictions placed on
distant water fleets, and foreign landings ceased in 1987 (Brodziak
2001). Red hake landings continued to decline afterwards, and averaged
only 1,100 mt per year during 1996-2005. In 2005, total red hake
landings were a historic low of 300 mt (Figure
5.2
[Fig 5.2 Data]).
The primary fishing gear used
to catch red hake is the otter trawl. Recreational catches, taken
almost exclusively from the southern stock, have been of minor importance
and have been negligible in recent years. In 2000, the New England
Fisheries Management Council implemented Amendment 12 to the Northeast
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and placed red hake
into the “small mesh multispecies” management unit,
along with silver hake and offshore hake. This amendment set retention
limits based on net mesh size, adopted overfishing definitions for
the northern and southern red hake stocks, identified essential
fish habitat for all life stages, and set requirements for fishing
gear (NEFMC 2000). The survey indices used in this document differ
from previous assessments in that vessel and door conversion coefficients
have been incorporated (NEFSC 1991).
NORTHERN
STOCK RED HAKE
The Fishery
The northern red hake stock had
significantly lower commercial landings than the southern stock
through the mid-1970s (Figure
5.2
[Fig 5.2 Data]). In 1973, total commercial landings
peaked at 15,281 mt but have since declined progressively. After
1976, landings declined considerably due to the withdrawal of the
distant water fleet. Commercial landings attained a historical low
of 130 mt in 2005 (Figure
5.3
[Fig 5.3 Data], Table
5.1).
Research Vessel Survey
Indices
The NEFSC autumn bottom trawl
survey biomass index exhibits considerable inter-annual variability.
Despite this, the index suggests a gradual increase in biomass from
the 1970s though 2002. Subsequently, the biomass index has steadily
declined (Figure
5.4
[Fig 5.4 Data]), and in 2005 was 1.274 kg/tow,
the lowest value since 1974, and less than ½ BMSY.
(Figure
5.5
[Fig 5.5 Data]).
Biological Reference Points
The overfishing definition uses a relative exploitation
index (total landings/NEFSC autumn survey biomass index) as a proxy
when fishing mortality is unknown (NEFMC 2003). The northern stock
is considered overfished when the 3-year moving average biomass
is less than the ½ BMSY proxy (1.6 kg/tow). Overfishing occurs
when the exploitation ratio exceeds the proxy for FMSY
(0.61). The 3-year average biomass has remained above the ½
BMSY proxy since the mid-1970s (Figure
5.5
[Fig 5.5 Data]). Exploitation indices have been
below the FMSY proxy since 1977, as well as below the Fproxy
target level of 0.37 since 1988 (Figure
5.6
[Fig 5.6 Data]).
Summary
Northern red hake landings and NEFSC autumn
survey biomass indices were relatively high until the mid-1970s
when the distant water fishery was at its maximum. Landings have
since declined to a historical low in 2005. In 2005, the exploitation
index was well below the FMSY proxy of 0.65
and the 3-year average biomass index remained above the ½
BMSY proxy, indicating that the stock is not overfished
and overfishing is not occurring.
During 1962 to 1976, landings
from the southern red hake stock were much higher than those from
the northern stock (Figure
5.2
[Fig 5.2 Data]). However, southern red hake
landings decreased sharply after 1966 and also after 1976 (Figure
5.7
[Fig 5.7 Data])due to restrictions
on distant water fleets. The southern stock landings have continued
to decrease, and reached a record low of 200 mt in 2005 (Table
5.3).
Research Vessel Survey
Indices
The NEFSC autumn survey biomass
index for the southern red hake stock markedly declined during 1963-1967
(Figure
5.8
[Fig 5.8 Data]), corresponding to the increase
in landings by distant water fleets. During 1967 to 1983, the survey
index fluctuated without trend, and has since declined despite very
low landings since the early 1980s. In 2005, the stock biomass index
for southern red hake was 0.78 kg per tow (Figure
5.8
[Fig 5.8 Data]).
An exploitation index was
calculated as the ratio of commercial landings to the 3-year average
biomass index from the NEFSC autumn survey (Figure
5.9
[Fig 5.9 Data]). Before 1975, the exploitation
indices were generally high but subsequently declined to a very
low level and has remained relatively stable over the past 30 years.
The 2005 exploitation index (0.3) is the lowest since 1985 (Figure
5.9
[Fig 5.9 Data]).
Biological Reference Points
In 1998 the Overfishing Definition
Review Panel (Applegate et al. 1998) concluded that MSY and F reference
points could not be determined for southern red hake because the
time series of landings and survey biomass indices did not include
a period of stable landings at high biomass levels. The Panel noted
that discarding could be significant, especially in the scallop
and trawl fisheries. Habitat destruction was also thought to be
prohibiting stock recovery since juveniles rely on intact scallop
beds for shelter. However, in recent years the scallop stock has
been recovering, but red hake biomass indices have not increased.
The southern red hake stock is
considered to be in an overfished condition when the three-year
moving average weight per individual fish in the NMFS autumn survey
falls below the 25th percentile of the 1963-1997 average of 0.12
kg and when the three-year moving average of the abundance of immature
fish less than 25 cm in the fall survey is below the 1963-1997 median
value of 4.07 immature fish per tow (Table 5.4).
Summary
The 2003-2005 average fish
weight of 0.068 kg was about half of the acceptable individual fish
weight reference point, however the 2003-2005 recruitment index
of 5.68 red hake less than 25 cm length per tow was above 4.07,
the median value (Figure
5.10
[Fig 5.10 Data]). Based on this, the southern
red hake stock is not in an overfished condition.
Applegate, A., S.X. Cadrin, J. Hoenig, C. Moore,
S. Murawski, and E. Pikitch. 1998. Evaluation of existing overfishing
definitions and recommendations for new overfishing definitions
to comply with the Sustainable Fisheries Act. New England Fishery
Management Council Report.
Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder.
1953. Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., Fish.
Bull. 74: 223-230 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell,
W.L. Michaels, and M.D. Grosslein. 2000. Food of Northwest Atlantic
fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/NE-155,
138 pp.
Collette, B.B. and G. Klein-MacPhee,
eds. 2002. Bigelow and Schroeder’s fishes of the Gulf of Maine.
Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press; 252-256.
Colton, J.B., Jr., and R.F. Temple.
1961. The enigma of Georges Bank spawning. Limnol. Oceanogr. 6:
280-291.
Grosslein, M.D. and T.R.
Azarovitz. 1982. Fish distribution. MESA New York Bight Atlas Monogr.
No. 15, 182 pp.
NEFMC (Northeast Fisheries Management Council).
2000. Amendment 12 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management
Plan. http://www.nefmc.org/mesh/index.html
NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Center). 1986. Report
of the Second NEFC Stock Assessment Workshop (2nd SAW). Northeast
Fish. Cent. Ref. Doc. 86-09. 114p.
NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Center).
1990. Report of the Eleventh NEFC Stock Assessment Workshop (11th
SAW), fall 1990. Northeast Fish. Cent. Ref. Doc. 90-09. 121 p.
NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Center).
1991. Report of the Twelfth NEFC Stock Assessment Workshop (12th
SAW), spring 1991. Northeast Fish. Cent. Ref. Doc. 91-03. 23 p.
Musick, J.A. 1967. Designation
of the hakes, Urophycis chuss and Urophycis tenuis, in ICNAF statistics.
Int. Comm. Northw. Atl. Fish. Res. Doc. No. 67/76.
O’Brien, L., J. Burnett,
and R. K. Mayo. 1993. Maturation of nineteen species of finfish
off the northeast coast of the United States, 1985-1990. NOAA Tech.
Report. NMFS 113, 22-25 p.
Roundtree, R.A. 1999. Nov. Diets
of NW Atlantic fishes and squid. http://fishecology.org
Accessed 17 Aug. 2000.
Steiner, W.W., J.J. Luczkovich,
and B.L. Olla. 1982. Activity, shelter usage, growth and recruitment
of juvenile red hake Urophycis chuss. Mar. Ecol. Prog.
Ser. 7:125-135.