2017 2017: What’s behind the increase in halibut in US waters?

SMAST researchers partner with The Nature Conservancy and Division of Marine Fisheries to investigate current management structure of the species in the US and Canada

Researchers at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) are working on a joint project with The Nature Conservancy and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to determine if the increase in halibut in US waters is due to the resurgence of the local population or if there is a link to the species in Canadian waters.

The team is also exploring whether the species should continue to be managed separately in the US and Canada, or if a coordinated transboundary management effort would be more beneficial to rebuilding Atlantic halibut fishery. The project involves working with local fishermen to biologically sample 250 halibut of varying sizes and tag 20 halibut using satellite tags.

To learn more about the initiative, check out the recently published article “Return of the Unicorns” by William Goldsmith on page 31 of the latest issue of On the Waterfront.