About This Project

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Black sea bass traditionally ranged from the Gulf of Mexico to southern Massachusetts, where they were met with a steep temperature gradient that likely deterred them from moving further into the Gulf of Maine (GOM). However, ocean temperatures have significantly increased in the GOM in the past several decades, enabling a northern range expansion.

In their native range, sea bass are an economically important commercial and recreational species and are also an aggressive and territorial predator. Currently, studies and monitoring data on black sea bass in the GOM are limited. Efforts to describe their abundance and distribution shifts in coastal waters of the GOM are a necessary first step in understanding the ecological impacts and economic implications of their range expansion.

What is the significance of this project?

Currently, no commercial or recreational black sea bass fisheries exist north of Massachusetts, and regulations on the species have only recently been implemented. A better understanding of the ecology of sea bass in this newly expanded range may aid in the early management of a potential new fishery.

Furthermore, the emergence of sea bass in the northern GOM could have negative impacts on native species and fisheries. Sea bass have a diet largely comprised of crustaceans in their native range, and the northern GOM is home to a very important crustacean, one that supports the second most valuable fishery in the U.S. – the lobster. Understanding how emergent species impact food web dynamics will be vital to both the ecological and economic resilience of the GOM.

What are the goals of the project?

The goals of this project are:

1.) To quantify the distribution, relative
abundance, and size frequency of black sea bass in its native and newly expanded range.
2.) To determine the impact of sea bass range expansion on benthic communities and native fisheries.
3.) To collect historical and anecdotal information on black sea bass in the Gulf of Maine.

A greater understanding of black sea bass range expansion will lead to more informed stock assessments and management of the northern stock. Overall, this project will provide a framework for future monitoring of emergent species in the GOM.