Massachusetts Lobster Catch Statistics 1990-2001

25 statistical reporting areas track the maximum number of pots fished and total pounds of lobster harvested annually from 1990 to 2001. The data originates from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries' Commercial Lobster Catch Database. It covers territorial waters and offshore areas like George's Bank, used for mapping and annual publications.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in total pounds of lobster harvested by year and license type across reporting areas.
• Map spatial distribution of maximum number of pots fished per statistical area to assess fishing effort.
• Compare lobster landings between the 14 territorial water areas and the 11 offshore National Marine Fisheries Service areas.
• Model the relationship between pot count (fishing effort) and harvest weight (catch yield) for different license types.

Strengths

• 12 years of consistent annual data from 1990 to 2001.
• Covers 25 distinct spatial reporting areas for granular geographic analysis.

Limitations

• Data is over 20 years old, limiting analysis of recent fishery conditions.
• Unknown sample size and row count prevents assessment of statistical robustness.
• Limited to Massachusetts-associated waters, not the full Gulf of Maine region.

Provenance

Source

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) Commercial Lobster Catch Database.

Collection Method

Compiled from fishermen reports mapped to statistical reporting areas.

Time Range

1990 to 2001

Freshness

null

Geography

Statistical reporting areas covering Massachusetts territorial waters and adjacent offshore waters like George's Bank in the Gulf of Maine.