Abstract:
Management of fishing effort and fishing capacity is receiving increased attention world-wide. In the Northeast
region of the U. S., the principal focus has been on managing “active” fishing vessels, although concerns have increased over
the magnitude of “latent” effort and its implications for resource recovery and sustainability. This paper reviews current and
historic levels of latent fishing effort in the Northeast U.S. groundfish fishery and examines patterns of latent to and active
effort, particularly as they may be affected by vessel ownership transfer.
