NOAA Fisheries Announces $2.3 Million to Study Atlantic Mackerel with the Northeast Fishing Industry

NOAA Fisheries is beginning a cooperative research initiative, partnering with the Northeast fishing industry to learn more about Atlantic mackerel population dynamics. The initiative will receive $2.3 million in the current fiscal year.

The project will engage more than 50 fishing vessels to collect and analyze data to improve our understanding of the Atlantic mackerel stock. Fishing vessels will be involved in:

• Developing acoustic technologies to detect and quantify mackerel, including active acoustics
• Collecting mackerel samples for biological analysis
• Tagging mackerel to understand movement between US and Canadian waters
• Participating in mackerel egg surveys to better understand spawning
• Developing and testing hypotheses about the ecosystem drivers of mackerel

This research initiative builds upon the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's 20-year model of success with cooperative research. This research includes working with the fishing industry to identify research needs, collect data, and support sustainable management of resource species.

"Cooperative research is critical because it brings to bear the combined knowledge of fishermen and scientists. This allows us to make smarter management decisions," explained NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler.

This study will investigate industry observations of increasing abundance after a previous decline in spawning stock biomass. Atlantic mackerel is most widely distributed and often observed by the fishing fleet in the winter and early spring, which results in limited overlap with fisheries surveys. Developing new tools to measure mackerel biomass using advanced acoustic technologies and analytical methods is an important component of this research.

This new research initiative aims to address key uncertainties in the Atlantic mackerel stock assessment to improve our understanding of the resource and management of the fishery. This study will also characterize the spawning seasonality of Atlantic mackerel on the U.S. continental shelf and advance our understanding of ecosystem drivers of mackerel abundance.

We will apply our findings to future Atlantic mackerel stock assessment, and other scientific products supporting management. Throughout the project, we will hold annual meetings with the fishing industry to provide data updates. We are also holding workshops with the fishing industry to collaboratively build a research plan for Atlantic herring.

The Atlantic mackerel fishery is worth up to $23 million and mackerel are an ecologically important fish. But, there has been limited research on the population dynamics of this valuable species. The Initiative is an opportunity for the fishing and science communities to work together to advance the tools available to monitor, understand, and manage this important resource.

This initiative supports the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness by:

• Applying a cooperative research approach to advance the Atlantic mackerel and Atlantic herring stock assessment and management
• Modernizing data collection and analytical practices to increase the responsiveness of fisheries science
• Pursuing Exempted Fishing Permits to promote scientific research and fishing opportunities