ABSTRACT
The Gulf of Maine Cod Project (GMCP), based at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), is a research initiative conducted under the auspices of the History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP) programme. Its general aims are to deploy historical evidence to better understand the causes and consequences of long-term changes in marine environments, and to establish biological indicators and population trends for fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic. More specifically, GMCP addresses three research questions. First, to what extent can historical data identify and define marine habitats? Second, what were the patterns that characterized, and the processes that shaped, the diversity, population and distribution of fish species in the past? Third, how have fishing communities perceived the nature and causes of change in marine ecosystems and how have they adapted to new environmental and regulatory conditions? In adopting a case study approach to answering these questions, GMCP’s initial research has focused upon analysing fishing records relating to two specific regions: the Scotian Shelf and the Gulf of Maine (see Figure 6.1). The study area of the Gulf of Maine Cod Project https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781849772105/2bb59cdc-c776-452a-8dd5-5607e5d337a7/content/fig6_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Note: The study area of the Gulf of Maine Cod Project comprises the Gulf of Maine, Bay of Fundy, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of St Lawrence and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Source: Bathymetry and topography are derived from ‘2-Minute Gridded Global Relief Data' (ETOPO2) (https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.ngdc.noaa.gov/); view colour version at https://www.hull.ac.uk/oceanspast" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.hull.ac.uk/oceanspast
