ML072070378

Wildlife Populations: Surf Clam

ML072070378
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	12/09/2004
From:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
Davis J NRR/DLR/REBB, 415-3835
References
Download: ML072070378 (2)

Text

"Wllf Po latioi Surf C4 Background last fewyears, this intrusion may have caused mortality in larger surf clams.

The possible effects of increased water temperature in the mid-Atlantic region Atlantic surf clams, Spisula solidissima, are distributed in the western North may be a gradual northward shift in the distribution of surf clams. This shift may Atlantic from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape Hatteras. Commer- have been indicated in the increase in New York's surf clam biomass over the cial concentrations are found primarily off New Jersey, the Delmarva Penin- past few years after several years of good recruitment in the late 1990s.

sula, and on Georges Bank. In New Jersey, surf clams are found from the beach zone to a depth of about 60 meters (m). Below 40 m, however, DEP estimated the total surf clam standing stock for 2003, in New Jersey, to be abundance is low.1 between 3.5 and 4.9 million bushels. The estimated standing stock steadily declined from 15.6 million bushels in 2000 to 4.2 million bushels in 2003. This New Jersey's commercial inshore surf clam season begins October 1 and represented a continuation of the downward trend from the maximum of 26.3 extends to May 31 each year. The Commissioner of the Department of million bushels recorded in 1997 (see chart below). Stock estimates are conser-Environmental Protection, with the advice of the Atlantic Coast Section of the vative because they assume 100 percent removal of all size classes of surf New Jersey Shellfisheries Council and the Surf Clam Advisory Committee, clams within the path of the dredge. However, earlier investigations by Rutgers establishes annually a season quota between 250,000 and 1,000,000 University showed a 70 percent to 80 percent removal rate to be more likely.

bushels of surf clams provided the quota does not exceed 10 percent of the estimated standing stock. Surf clam harvest records indicate that the majority of harvest activities oc-curred in the harvest zones between Absecon Inlet and Barnegat Inlet. New The surf clam fishery is currently the largest molluscan fishery in New Jersey, Jersey vessels harvested a total of 197,152 industry bushels (71.7 percent of accounting for 60.6 percent (by weight) of the State's total molluscan com- the season quota) of surf clams from New Jersey's territorial waters during the mercial landings in 2003. Historically, New Jersey leads all other states in 2003-2004 season. In addition, the bait clam harvest was 55,406 industry surf clam landings because New Jersey vessels participate in fisheries in bushels in 2003. Bait clams are surf clams that are harvested from waters the both state and federally controlled waters. Department has closed to shellfish harvesting due to sanitary concerns. These bait clams are used as bait in other fishing industries.

Trend Estimated Standing stock of Surf Clams Past success of the New Jersey surf clam fishery was a result of a favorable 40,o 00o.0 . .

habitat capable of supporting commercially viable concentrations of surf 35,000 000 clams and the development of state management programs. However, over the last decade, the stocks of New Jersey surf clams havedramatically 30,000,000 -

declined from all time highs that were recorded in the mid- to late 1990s. 25.000.000 This same trend has also been observed within Federal waters off the ** 20.000.000 Delmarva Peninsula during the same time period.

15.000,000 While some reduction in the population may be attributed to harvest, other as yet to be determined factors must be involved to account for a decrease in 1.0000000 standing stock of this magnitude including loss of large mature clams and 5000 000 lack of recruitment. One theory is that there has been a 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 warm water intrusion over the mid-Atlantic shelf. Over the Wildlife Populations; Suff Clain Page.I M

Outlook and Implications MoreInformation -

At present, various proposals have been submitted by industry and academic http://,www.nefsc.'no~aagpv/so~s/spsyn/iv/surfclam/

groups to look into the surf clam decline. In 2003, Rutgers University collected surf clam samples from a surf clam "mortality line" off the Delmarva Peninsula in the Mid-Atlantic region to look to see if there was any physiological reason for the surf clam decline, such as disease. The results revealed no evidence References of disease, but the surf clams showed evidence of malnutrition.

1 Weinberg, J. 2000. Atlantic Surf Clam. http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sosl The development and future success of surf clam management programs is spsyn/iv/surfclam/. December 9, 2004.

dependent on the availability of accurate and up-to-date information on the status of the resource. Current knowledge of stock size, population structure, Unless otherwise cited, the information in this report was provide by the DEP and recruitment is especially important because of the tremendous harvesting Division of Fish and Wildlife report to the US Department of Commerce power that presently exists. within the industry and b6cause the potential for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries

.over harvest is large in relation to the size and stability of the resource. DEP is Service, entitled Inventory of New Jersey's Surf Clam (Spisula solidissima) working with other states and federal partners to determine how best to Resource.

manage the population in the face of declining stocks.

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