A Decline in Starfish, Asterias forbesi, Abundance and
a Concurrent Increase in Northern Quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, Abundance and Landings in the Northeastern United States
The abundance of the common starfish, Asterias forbesi, fluctuates widely over time. The starfish is a predator
of pre-recruit northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria. During the 1990’s, starfish became scarce in Raritan Bay and Long Island Sound. Quahog populations concurrently
erupted in abundance and quahog landings have risen sharply in both locations. The extensive scale of this observation
would seem to imply a cause and effect; at the least, both populations may be responding differently to a large scale exogenous factor
