Another thing that really jumps out at me is this. Take another look at this graph...
In 1988 the Recruitment (YoY) was at approx. 5 million fish. During that same year, the Female SSB (Spawning Stock Biomass) was also right at 5 million fish. So in 1988 you have biomass of approx. 10 million pounds of spawning females, and end up with an additional 5 million YoY fish as a result.
In stark contrast is the year 2007. In 2007, we had an estimated 120 million pounds of Female SSB, yet we had a Recruitment level of only 5 million fish, same as 1988.
That's scary to me... and just another indication that something is seriously wrong in the spawning grounds....
During the Rhode Island meeting I asked Ms. Meserve and the RI appointees to the ASMFC about this specifically and asked if they could give us any information on why the recruitment level is SO low, given the current level of female Spawning Stock Biomass. They did not have an answer for me. Ms. Meserve DID speculate that it is most likely due to environmental issues in the spawning grounds and confirmed that the fishery is NOT being replenished at anywhere close the the same rate at which it is being depleted.
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