Ecosystem components are defined as the major ecological characteristics of an ecosystem that can be used to organize relevant information in a limited number of discrete, but not necessarily independent categories. These categories include groups of living marine resources, like “seabirds”, “salmon”, and “coastal pelagic species”, that are foundationally important and highly valued members of the of the California Current ecosystem.

Overview

Providing recreational opportunities is a stated goal of fishery management under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The NOAA Fisheries Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) collects catch and effort data from surveys of ship captains and anglers that supports managers in tracking performance against this goal (NEFSC 2018a,b).

Ocean-related tourism in the Northeast covers a wide range of activities, including beach-going, boating, recreational fishing (see separate section below) whale-watching, birding, surfing, and diving. Whale watching is found throughout the Northeast, from Maine through New Jersey, but is most common in Maine and Massachusetts (Hoyt 1995:8).

Part of a culture is its artifacts, including tools, technology, and infrastructure. For commercial and recreational fishing, shoreside infrastructure includes docks, marinas, bait and tackle stores, boatyards, net makers, ice houses, chandleries (that supply ships’ stores, spare parts, and other items), and processing plants.