Interdisciplinary Analysis of Yellowtail Flounder Stock Structure off New England

Abstract

An interdisciplinary study considering geographic patterns of abundance, geographic variation, and movement suggests that yellowtail flounder, Limanda ferruginea, on the principal U.S. fishing grounds should be managed as three separate stocks despite apparent homogeneity of genetic variation. Divergent patterns of abundance and biomass over time suggest two harvest stocks of yellowtail flounder with a boundary on southwest Georges Bank. Geographic patterns of growth and maturity indicate two phenotypic stocks of yellowtail flounder, with a boundary on northern Georges Bank. Yellowtail flounder resources off the U.S. may be a single genetic stock, but significant variation in life history attributes and different patterns of abundance over time suggest that yellowtail flounder off the northeastern U.S. should be managed as three stocks: Cape Cod-Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England-Mid Atlantic.