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Chapter 8 - Small Pelagic FishImportant Areas for Atlantic Herring:Spring: Southern New England shelf waters,Georges Bank, Cape Ann to southeast of Nantucket,inshore eastern MaineFall: Gulf of Maine, east of NantucketAtlantic MackerelConsistent with what is known of this species’ life history,in spring (Figure 8-3a), the fish are broadly distributedfrom Georges Bank to Cape Hatteras along the mid toouter Continental Shelf, as well as closer inshore fromRhode Island to Cape Hatteras. The high persistence/high abundance locations off southern New Jersey arelikely associated with a known aggregation/spawning areaat around this time of year though the spawn may be later(April/May) than the trawl survey (Figure 8-4a). In thefall, the fish are either scarce in the Northwest Atlanticarea, or they are caught in lower numbers because of achange in catchability, or substantial mortality hasoccurred (Figure 8-4b). The spring and fall trend mapsappear to reveal an increase in population size whichagrees with the NMFS biomass trend for the species(Figure 8-3c, d). There seems to be a distinct decline innumbers in the spring along the outer shelf off southernNew England and the areas immediately adjacent in theMid-Atlantic Bight and the Gulf of Maine. The fall mapshows no distinct pattern in the locations of decrease.Important Areas for Atlantic Mackerel:Spring: Shelf waters, mid- to outer Georges Bankto Cape Hatteras, near shore from Rhode Island toCape HatterasFall: Not enough data to determineABFigure 8-4. Areas with high persistence and abundance over 40 years for Atlantic mackerel during the spring and fallseasons.Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment • Phase 1 Report 8-