Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category
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III
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Estimated Number of Participants
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Unknown
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Target Species
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Blue mussel
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Applicable Take Reduction Plans
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N/A
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Observer Coverage
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N/A
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Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured
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None documented
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^ Number of participants estimates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data. The estimated number of participants is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible. If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, then the number from the most recent LOF is used. NOAA Fisheries acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflating actual effort.
*Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report (SAR).
1 Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.
Basis for Current Classification
There have been no documented cases of marine mammal species/stock injured/killed by this gear.
Distribution
Harvested commercially from Maine to Long Island. In Maine, the best commercial mussel beds are found a few feet above and below mean low water between Casco Bay and Jonesport. Mussels can be harvested all year but most fishing is in the winter. Fishermen cannot fish for mussels at night from April 1 to October 31.
Gear Description
A mussel dredge is a framed mouth with an attached bag. Across the bottom of the mouth is either a cutting bar or a chain sweep that loosens the mussels as the drag is pulled across the bottom. The maximum width of the dredge is 6.5 feet.
Management
This fishery is managed under state regulations.
Historical Information
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Original Category (Year added to the LOF)
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III (1989)
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Original Number of Participants
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>50
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Basis for Original Classification
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Observer logbook are not available and stranding data did not indicate the fishery interacted with marine mammal species.
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Past Names
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N/A
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Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list)
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N/A
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Timeline of Changes
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
North Atlantic right whale Catalog #3560 ‘Snow Cone’ sighted December 2, 2021 entangled and with a new calf. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA permit 20556.
Four North Atllantic right whales.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologist collecting data during buoyless lobster trap tests.