Fisheries Research 96 (2009) 303–307 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fisheries Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fishres Short communication Catch statistics in the bloodworm fishery in Maine Eben Sypitkowski a,∗ , William G. Ambrose Jr. a , Curtis Bohlen b , Joseph Warren a a Department of Biology, Bates College, 44 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, ME 04240, USA b 25 Webster Lane, Yarmouth, ME 04096, USA article info Article history: Received 19 March 2008 Received in revised form 7 August 2008 Accepted 3 September 2008 Keywords: Bloodworm Intertidal Baitworm Digging Small-scale fishery Catch per unit effort abstract Though they are of critical importance as tools for fisheries managers, catch statistics of small-scale arti- sanal fisheries are rare. The bloodworm (Glycera dibranchiata) fishery in Maine has lacked catch data since the 1970s, and the extent of the disturbance to the mudflats from which they are dug has never been examined. We tested the hypothesis that worm catch rates have declined since the 1970s. Using both interviews with diggers and observational data, we gathered catch per unit effort data on the time diggers spend digging per tide, worms dug per digger-tide, area dug per digger-tide, and the size of harvested individuals. We found that an average digger digs about 90m 2 /h for roughly 2 h each tide. Diggers, how- ever, averaged longer tides and dug larger areas in 2007 than in 2004–2005. Also, diggers harvested an average of 702 (±36S.E.) worms per tide in 2007, more than twice the average for 2004–2005 (328 ± 24). This is most likely due to higher worm density (5.6 worms/m 2 in 2007 vs. 0.3 worms/m 2 in 2004–2005 at the Worm Conservation Area, Wiscasset, ME). Harvested worms in the past few years have been on the order of 10% larger than worms dug during the 1970s. While managers should consider the extent of disturbance caused by bloodworm digging, from the standpoint of the removal of the target species, the industry at present appears to be sustainable. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Stock assessments are important for fisheries managers to deter- mine the health and sustainability of a fishery. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) data are fundamental to stock management (Fox and Starr, 1996). The size of harvested individuals is also important to the suite of information required for effective fishery management, yet these parameters are rare and difficult to obtain in small artisanal fisheries (Orensanz et al., 2005). Intertidal polychaete seaworms are dug around the world for their value as saltwater bait and aquaculture feed (Olive, 1999; Scaps, 2004). While the lugworm Arenicola marina is harvested by dredge in the Dutch Wadden Sea (Beukema, 1995), most seaworms are harvested by hand. The large majority of seaworms are sold to saltwater fishermen in the US and Europe; the European mar- ket was recently estimated to be worth over D 200 million (Olive, 1999). Stock assessments and removal rates have been examined for the lugworm (Beukema and de Vlas, 1979), the sandworm (Nereis virens) on the northeast coast of England (Blake, 1979), and Diopatra neopolitana in Portugal (Cunha et al., 2005). Research over the past 30 years, however, has neglected the bloodworm (Glycera dibranchi- ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: esypitko@bates.edu (E. Sypitkowski). ata) fishery in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, where a steady industry has provided more than 800 jobs annually since the 1940s (MacPhail, 1954; Department of Marine Resources (DMR), 2007). In 2004, the fishery in Maine was worth US$ 7.5 million, though that has declined in the past few years to about US$ 5 million in 2006, the most recent year for which data are available (DMR, 2007). Many diggers and dealers of bloodworms have expressed their concern over declining worm size and stocks in recent years. Digging occurs everywhere in Maine where diggers find commercially viable den- sities (>4 m -2 ) on the state’s 8000 ha of mud and sandflats (E.P. Creaser, personal communication, see also Sypitkowski et al., 2008). There is only one flat in the state on which digging is not allowed (the Worm Conservation Area (WCA); Creaser et al., 1983), but no information is yet available concerning where digging does take place, nor how often a flat may be dug. This has led to the use of guesswork to establish experimental digging frequencies in studies examining the effect of digging on non-target infauna (Brown and Wilson, 1997; Beal and Vencile, 2001). Bloodworms are harvested from intertidal mud and sand flats using tined hoes similar to clam hoes to flip the sediment and expose infaunal worms which live at an average depth of 10cm (Sypitkowski et al., 2008). Unlike some other polychaete species, bloodworms leave no indication of their presence on the mud sur- face, so diggers generally dig long, straight strips about one meter in width (Creaser et al., 1983). The only regulations on the industry 0165-7836/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2008.09.018