Influence of Sea Temperature Cycles on the Abundance and Availability of Marine and Estuarine Species of Commerce

The traditional commercial fisheries of the northern Gulf of Maine have been characterized by major fluctuations in abundance and catch during the past century or more. For much of this time the fishing industry has recognized the existence of these fluctuations without understanding why they have occurred nor when they are likely to recur. It has become evident from more than thirty years of study that highly significant negative or positive correlation coefficients between sea surface temperature as measured at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and the catch of thirty-one species,1 including finfish, shellfish, Crustacea, and annelids, among others, which historically have comprised more than 95% of the annual volume and value of Maine´s commercial fisheries production, identify sea temperature cycles as the major direct or indirect cause of species abundance and catch fluctuations.