Human Uses of Jeffreys Ledge Jeffreys Ledge's unique characteristics support a wide variety of life. Since humans came to North America, this resource has been used, exploited, conserved, and appreciated in many ways. Fishing Jeffreys Ledge supports a wide variety of fish: mid-water and schooling fish, including herring and mackerel; groundfish, such as cod, haddock, dogfish, and flounder; and pelagic, or open-ocean fish, such as bluefin tuna. The Ledge habitat also supports a variety of crustaceans and mollusks, such as shrimp, lobsters, crabs, scallops, and clams. Many of these species are popular targets for commercial and sport fisheries. Various types of fishing vessels can be found at work on Jeffreys on any given day, employing various methods to catch their targeted species. Use of these methods often depends on the season, and in days of stringent regulations such as these, many fishermen have learned to switch fishing methods and target species in accordance with the season and availability of different species. Similar to many other productive marine areas, Jeffreys Ledge in recent years has been subject to scrutiny with regard to the management of fishing. FISHING TYPES Fishermen may use mobile or fixed gear. Mobile gear is the type that comes and goes with the fisherman, such as longlines, seine nets, and trawls. Fixed gear is usually set one day, and then hauled a day or two later. Fixed gear may include lobster pots and gill nets. Dragging/Trawling A fishing dragger can be anywhere in size from a small boat to a vessel over 100' long. All draggers generally employ the same basic method to catch fish - A net is dragged behind the vessel (it is usually weighted, because the target is often groundfish or mid-water fish), and essentially "scoops" fish up as the vessel moves through the water at slow speed. There are many variations - the net may be hand-hauled, or more often, hauled up with a winch, one or two vessels may tow the net, and there are various net shapes (most are conical). Target species include cod, haddock, pollock, flounder, herring, and mackerel. Gill-netting Gill nets are often operated by smaller fishing vessels. A gill net is an upright mesh net that is usually set on the ocean bottom, and rises eight to twelve feet from the ocean bottom. Each net is about 300 feet long, and is marked on each end by a buoy at the ocean surface. Nets may be used singly or attached to make a string of nets. The mesh nets are made of monofilament line, making it difficult for fish to see them - therefore, as fish swim into a net they get caught by their gills when they try to swim back out. Gill nets often target groundfish, such as cod, haddock, and pollock, or may be used to catch "bait fish" such as herring or mackerel. The nets are fixed gear - they are set one day, and then the fisherman usually hauls them again within 24 hours. Longlining Longlining is a traditional fishing method, relying on baited hooks on a line to catch the targeted species. The line is clipped to an anchor line, which is marked with a buoy for visibility. The longline is about a quarter-mile long, and has hundreds of hooks which are baited with chunks of sea clams. The line is let out through a metal chute in the boat's stern, and as the boat moves ahead, the line and hooks fly out through the stern. The line is only set at slack tide - the time between high and low tide when the water is calm, so it is only used for a few hours each day. Longlining is a popular, traditional method for catching cod. Specific Commercial Fishing Industries Herring The herring is a small fish that tends to school tightly in large groups, making it an easy target species for draggers. The ease in catching these schooling fish (which also includes mackerel), has increased the herring's commercial importance, and decreased its abundance. Groundfishing Targeted species for groundfishing are fish that spend their time on the ocean bottom, such as hod, haddock, hake, and flounder. Groundfish are often caught using draggers, or, as in the case of recreational fishing, caught with rod and reel from April through October. Scalloping Sea Scallops are found on the ocean floor, so they are usually caught using rakes or dredges which are dragged along the ocean bottom and hauled up. Once the rakes are hauled up, the contents are dumped on deck, and crewmembers work quickly to shuck the scallops (scraping out the "meat", the big muscle the scallop uses to open and close its shell) while the rake goes back overboard to fish some more. Shrimping Northern shrimp are fished from December to May, using a trawl net which is let out over a vessel's stern, and dragged through the water near the ocean bottom as the boat tows it back and forth over a wide area. Once the net is hauled, the catch is dumped on the deck, and shrimp are picked out and bycatch is thrown back into the ocean. The net is then set again for another tow. If the catch is good, the net may be towed several times before the trip is called for the day. Lobstering Lobsters may be caught inshore in fairly shallow water, or offshore, in deeper water. Both types of lobster fishing use baited traps (larger traps are set for a longer time in deeper water). Traps are set on the ocean bottom and marked at the surface with a buoy that is colored specific to its owner. Before the early 1900's, lobsters were so plentiful that regulations about their catch weren't needed, but today minimum size limits are set. Therefore, lobster traps have an escape hole large enough for below-minimum ("shorts") lobsters to get of the trap. As the traps are hauled, the fishermen measure each lobster and the "shorts" are thrown back into the ocean. Recreational Fishing Recreational fishing is a popular summer activity in the Gulf of Maine. Fishermen may be out for a day looking for a specific catch during a particular season - groundfish and bluefish from during spring and summer, tuna from summer through fall, and striped bass in spring and early summer. Whale Watching Hundreds of years ago, humans sought whales with harpoon-in-hand, going after their oil and baleen. Today, we respectfully watch these creatures with cameras in hand, at a distance, from whale watch boats. Jeffreys Ledge has a variety of both frequent and occasional whale species that can be experienced via whale watch boats. Commercial Shipping Jeffreys Ledge lies off the coast near some important commercial ports: Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Gloucester and Boston, Massachusetts. These ports, among others, support a large amount of vessel traffic - freighters, tankers, tugs and barges, and smaller commercial vessels may all be found on or near the Ledge, transferring goods and supplies between these ports. Research & Education Several research and educational organizations work on or near the Ledge in learning more about the marine life and habitat in the Gulf of Maine. These include: College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine The College of the Atlantic hosts a marine mammal laboratory called Allied Whale. Founded in 1972, Allied Whale is involved in field research projects in the Gulf of Maine and in many other areas of the world. Allied Whale also houses the catalogs for all photo-identified humpback and finback whales in the Gulf of Maine. Shoals Marine Laboratory, Appledore Island, Isles of Shoals, Maine In 1973, Dr. John M. Kingsbury opened the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island. The marine lab is cooperatively run by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire and gives students from all over the world the opportunity to live and study right in the unique marine environment known as the Gulf of Maine. Students live on Appledore Island from June-Labor Day, and take classes ranging from one day to several months long, studying and working in the marine lab's extensive facilities. The lab has grown to be North America's largest undergraduate marine field station. The Shoals Lab has a research vessel, the R/V John M. Kingsbury, which takes students out on research cruises near Jeffreys Ledge. University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire operates several research labs, including the cooperative Shoals Marine Laboratory, an Ocean Engineering Laboratory, the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, Coastal Marine Laboratory, Anadromous Fish and Aquatic Invertebrate Research Laboratory, and Image Analysis Laboratory. The R/V Gulf Challenger is a 50-foot research vessel equipped with modern equipment, which crews use for extensive research and education in both the coastal and estuarine waters of the Gulf of Maine. Whale Center Of New England, Gloucester, Massachusetts The Whale Center Of New England has been conducting research in the Gulf of Maine since 1980. They use their own research vessel, as well as public whale watch boats, as platforms for data collection. The Whale Center has about ten interns every year (spring, summer, fall).