Digital Commons Network^™

Using Bayesian Multispecies Models To Evaluate Fish And Invertebrate Detection Probability And Distribution In The Hypersaline Bahia Grande Tidal Basin, Roy M. Ulibarri, Catherine M. Eckert, David Hicks, David Montagne, Brandon Jones, David R. Stewart

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective

In 2000, the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge acquired the Bahia Grande (Texas) management unit, a space that had lain barren and arid for 70 years. A large cooperative partnership launched a restoration project to replenish the basin and recover its original tidal hydrology. In 2005, the construction of a pilot channel successfully restored water throughout the basin, and plans to eventually widen the channel were developed. Our study aims to evaluate an estuarine habitat restoration by assessing ecological drivers and the impacts on species diversity.

Methods

We evaluated species richness, detection/occupancy rates, and species–habitat relationships, and we estimated …

Assessment Of The Status Of The Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Resource, Corey Wakefield, Ainslie Denham, Fabian Trinnie, Sybrand A. Hesp, Rachel Marks, Dion Boddington, Stephen J. Newman

Fisheries research reports

Executive Summary

For this assessment of the Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Resource (PDSR) of Western Australia, red emperor and bluespotted emperor are the indicator species used to represent the status of the resource. In addition, goldband snapper, though not an indicator species, is relatively abundant in the annual catches, particularly in deeper waters (around 100 m) and in the western Pilbara region and its status has also been assessed.

The Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activity And Climate Change On The Formation Of Harmful Algal Blooms (Habs) And Its Ecological Consequence, Zhangxi Hu, Aifeng Li, Zhun Li, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nutritional Challenges Of Substituting Farmed Animals For Wild Fish In Human Diets, Sebastian A. Heilpern, Rafael M. Almeida, Kathryn J. Fiorella, Alexander S. Flecker, Demetra Williams, Peter B. Mcintyre

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wild fisheries provide billions of people with a key source of multiple essential nutrients. As fisheries plateau or decline, nourishing more people will partially rely on shifting consumption to farmed animals. The environmental implications of transitions among animal-sourced foods have been scrutinized, but their nutritional substitutability remains unclear. We compared concentrations of six essential dietary nutrients across >5000 species of wild fishes, aquaculture, poultry and livestock species, representing >65% of animals consumed globally. Wild fishes are both more nutrient-dense and variable than farmed animals; achieving recommended intake of all nutrients with farmed species could require consuming almost four times more …

South Coast Offshore Crustacean Resource Of Western Australia Harvest Strategy, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries management papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources in Western Australia (WA) that are managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, the Department) are formal documents that ensures decision-making processes are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD; Fletcher 2002) and Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM; Fletcher et al. 2012). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA) and the Aquatic Resources Management Act 2016 (ARMA), which is anticipated replace the FRMA once enacted. At this point, the Fish Resources Management Regulations 1995 (FRMR) is also anticipated to …

Resource Assessment Report For Western Australian Salmon In Western Australia, Rodney Duffy Dr., Bianca Brooks, Alex Hesp, Amber Quinn, Blaine Hodgson, Marcus Newman

Fisheries research reports

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the Western Australian Salmon Resource (Resource) and all fishing activities (i.e., fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this Resource in WA. The overall Resource comprises a single species, Western Australian salmon, caught within WA, in both the WCB and SCB. This species is primarily captured during the annual autumn ‘salmon run’ by recreational fishers and commercial beach seine fishers that operate on the South Coast. The report contains information relevant to assist the assessment of the Resource against Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act export approval requirements / the Marine Stewardship …

Variability In Billfish Vertical Distribution And Fishing Interactions Driven By Environmental Conditions In The Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, H. E. Blondin, D. E. Haulsee, Ryan Logan, Mahmood Shivji, E. R. Hoffmayer, J. H. Walker, J. M. Dean, E. L. Hazen, L. B. Crowder

Biology Faculty Articles

Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) and sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) are ecologically important predators and valuable species throughout the world’s recreational, commercial, and subsistence fisheries. Comparing multi-species vertical habitat use can inform ecological uncertainties such as inter-species competition, as well as relative vulnerabilities to fishing activities. In this study, we identified key differences in both depth use and which environmental variables drive these selections, which highlights the variability in the catchability both as target species in recreational fisheries and bycatch in commercial fisheries. To understand these two species’ vertical habitat use, we examined depth profiles from 26 sailfish …

On The Architecture Of Collaboration In Inter-Organizational Natural Resource Management Networks, Gordon M. Hickey, Evelyn Roozee, Remko Voogd, Jasper R. De Vries, Antonia Sohns, Dongkyu Kim, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reviews the architecture of collaboration that exists within inter-organizational natural resource management (NRM) networks. It presents an integrative conceptual framework designed to help operationalize the multi-level interactions that occur between different dimensions of trust, risk perception, and control as key concepts in inter-organizational collaboration. The objective is to identify and justify a series of propositions considered suitable for assessing inter-organizational NRM network collaboration through empirical work. Such an integrative conceptualization goes beyond the existing trust scholarship related to collaborative NRM, and, we argue, offers a useful starting point for further exploring some of the ‘inner’ social dynamics affecting …

Potential Repercussions Of Offshore Wind Energy Development In The Northeast United States For The Atlantic Surfclam Survey And Population Assessment, Sarah Borsetti, Daphne M. Munroe, Andrew M. Scheld, Eric N. Powell, John M. Klinck, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

The Atlantic surfclam Spisula solidissima fishery, which spans the U.S. Northeast continental shelf, is among the most exposed to offshore wind energy development impacts because of the overlap of fishing grounds with wind energy lease areas, the hydraulic dredges used by the fishing vessels, and the location of vessel home ports relative to the fishing grounds. The Atlantic surfclam federal assessment survey is conducted using a commercial fishing vessel in locations that overlap with the offshore wind energy development. Once wind energy turbines, cables, and scour protection are installed, survey operations within wind energy lease areas may be curtailed or …

Interactive Effects Of Climate Change-Induced Range Shifts And Wind Energy Development On Future Economic Conditions Of The Atlantic Surfclam Fishery, Stephanie Stromp, Andrew M. Scheld, John M. Klinck, Daphne M. Munroe, Eric N. Powell, Roger Mann, Sarah Borsetti, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

Rising water temperatures along the northeastern U.S. continental shelf have resulted in an offshore range shift of the Atlantic surfclam Spisula solidissima to waters still occupied by ocean quahogs Arctica islandica. Fishers presently are prohibited from landing both Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs in the same catch, thus limiting fishing to locations where the target species can be sorted on deck. Wind energy development on and around the fishing grounds will further restrict the fishery. A spatially explicit model of the Atlantic surfclam fishery (Spatially Explicit Fishery Economics Simulator) has the ability to simulate the consequences of fishery displacement …

Fitting Time Series Models To Fisheries Data To Ascertain Age, Kathleen S. Kirch, Norou Diawara, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

The ability of government agencies to assign accurate ages of fish is important to fisheries management. Accurate ageing allows for most reliable age-based models to be used to support sustainability and maximize economic benefit. Assigning age relies on validating putative annual marks by evaluating accretional material laid down in patterns in fish ear bones, typically by marginal increment analysis. These patterns often take the shape of a sawtooth wave with an abrupt drop in accretion yearly to form an annual band and are typically validated qualitatively. Researchers have shown key interest in modeling marginal increments to verify the marks do, …

Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program 2022, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program

Reports

The Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program (VFRGP) enables members of Virginia’s seafood industries to develop ideas to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s coastal and marine resources. Since its inception in 1999, the annually funded program has supported 143 projects, five of which were approved to start in 2022. These projects enable members of seafood industries to pursue ideas for increasing efficiency and sustainability that will benefit the entire industry, without personally bearing the cost and high risk. The VFRGP is coordinated by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Marine Advisory Program (VIMS MAP), in partnership with Virginia Sea Grant Marine …

Technoscience And The Modernization Of Freshwater Fisheries Assessment And Management, S. J. Cooke, M. F. Docker, N. E. Mandrak, N. Young, D. D. Heath, K. M. Jeffries, A. Howarth, J. W. Brownscombe, J. Livernois, C. A.D. Semeniuk, P. A. Venturelli, A. J. Danylchuk, R. J. Lennox, I. Jarić, A. T. Fisk, C. S. Vandergoot, J. R. Britton, A. M. Muir

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Inland fisheries assessment and management are challenging given the inherent complexity of working in diverse habitats (e.g., rivers, lakes, wetlands) that are dynamic on organisms that are often cryptic and where fishers are often highly mobile. Yet, technoscience is offering new tools that have the potential to reimagine how inland fisheries are assessed and managed. So-called “technoscience” refers to instances in which science and technology unfurl together, offering novel ways of spurring and achieving meaningful change. This paper considers the role of technoscience and its potential for modernizing the assessment and management of inland fisheries. It first explores technoscience and …

Characterization Of Nursery Habitats Used By Black Sea Bass And Summer Flounder In Chesapeake Bay And The Coastal Lagoons, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey, Shannon C. Smith, Paige G. Ross, Richard A. Snyder, Harry V. Wang, Aaron J. Bever

Reports

Coastal habitats are increasingly impacted by intersecting and often competing human activities overlaid on habitat loss and degradation. These demands have prompted resource managers to implement marine spatial-planning strategies (Foley et al. 2010), but the effectiveness of this approach depends on the quality and resolution of the ecological information considered in delineating best uses of public natural resources. Many economically and ecologically important species such as summer flounder and black sea bass depend on inshore nursery habitats, yet habitat-specific utilization patterns lack the resolution needed to protect critical areas and inform ecological restoration strategies. To address these data gaps, we …

2022 Annual Report - Estimating Relative Juvenile Abundance Of Ecologically Important Finfish In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay (1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Trawl Survey provides crucial data to state, regional, and national fisheries management agencies, including the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the Mid‐Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The MAFMC recognizes the juvenile trawl survey as one of the key predictors of Summer Flounder recruitment. Annual indices of juvenile abundance have been generated from trawl survey data for species of key recreational and ecological importance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay. These include Spot, Atlantic Croaker, Weakfish, Summer Flounder, Black Sea Bass, Scup, Striped Bass, White …

Migration Patterns Of Greenland Halibut In The North Atlantic Revealed By A Compiled Mark-Recapture Dataset, Mikko Vihtakari, Bjarki Pór Elvarsson, Margaret Treble, Adriana Nogueira, Kevin Hedges, Nigel E. Hussey, Laura Wheeland, Denis Roy, Lise Helen Ofstad, Elvar H. Hallfredsson, Amanda Barkley, Daniel Estevez-Barcia, Rasmus Nygaard, Brian Healey, Petur Steingrund, Torild Johansen, Ole Thomas Albert, Jesper Boje

Integrative Biology Publications

Marine fisheries are often allocated to stocks that reflect pragmatic considerations and may not represent the species' spatial population structure, increasing the risk of mismanagement and unsustainable harvesting. Here we compile mark-recapture data collected across the North Atlantic to gain insight into the spatial population structure of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), an issue that has been unresolved for decades. The dataset contains 168130 fish tagged from 1952 to 2021, with 5466 (3.3%) recaptured individuals. Our results indicate that fish tagged at rates, suggesting that mark-recapture studies on adult individuals underestimate population-level migration rates. We find evidence for migrations across management …

Annual Report - 2021 Data Collection And Analysis In Support Of Single And Multispecies Stock Assessments In Chesapeake Bay: The Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring And Assessment Program, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, Debra J. Gauthier, Robert J. Latour

Reports

Historically, fisheries management has been based on the results of single-species stock assessment models that focus on the interplay between exploitation level and sustainability. There currently exists a suite of standard and accepted analytical frameworks (e.g., virtual population analysis (VPA), biomass dynamic production modeling, delay difference models, etc.) for assessing the stocks, projecting future stock size, evaluating recovery schedules and rebuilding strategies for overfished stocks, setting allowable catches, and estimating fishing mortality or exploitation rates. A variety of methods also exist to integrate the biological system and the fisheries resource system, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternative management strategies on …

Annual Report 2022 - Data Collection And Analysis In Support Of Single And Multispecies Stock Assessments In Chesapeake Bay: The Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring And Assessment Program, Gina M. Ralph, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, Debra J. Gauthier, Jameson Gregg, Robert J. Latour

Reports

The threats affecting living marine resources are diverse, including overfishing, climate change, and pollution. In response to long-term challenges in fisheries management, a more holistic evaluation of the natural and anthropogenic drivers of populations sizes is needed. Ecosystem management (EM), a suite of strategies that incorporate ecosystem considerations into fisheries and ecosystem management, can be difficult to implement in practice. In the Mid-Atlantic, efforts to implement EM are ongoing; one output has been the annual ‘State of the Ecosystem Report’ for the region, synthesizes available data on a variety of environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic factors. Historically, the data needed for …

Knowledge Gaps In Economic Costs Of Invasive Alien Fish Worldwide, Phillip J. Haubrock, Camille Bernery, Ross N. Cuthbert, Chunlong Liu, Melina Kourantidou, Boris Leroy, Anna J. Turbelin, Andrew M. Kramer, Laura N.H. Verbrugge, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp, Rodolphe E. Gozlan

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Invasive alien fishes have had pernicious ecological and economic impacts on both aquatic ecosystems and human societies. However, a comprehensive and collective assessment of their monetary costs is still lacking. In this study, we collected and reviewed reported data on the economic impacts of invasive alien fishes using InvaCost, the most comprehensive global database of invasion costs. We analysed how total (i.e. both observed and potential/predicted) and observed (i.e. empirically incurred only) costs of fish invasions are distributed geographically and temporally and assessed which socioeconomic sectors are most affected. Fish invasions have potentially caused the economic loss of at least …

Attitudes And Behaviors For Understanding Compliance In Greenland's Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Fishery, Hunter T. Snyder, Rodrigo Oyanedel, Christopher S. Sneddon, Andrew M. Scheld

VIMS Articles

Noncompliance is a central challenge for conservation, but in settings with limited access to behavioral data, it can be difficult to evaluate what drives compliance. Conservationists can measure and evaluate resource users' attitudes, and in so doing, leverage a complementary, nonbehavioral measure for evaluating compliance. In Greenland, wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fishers are under increasing regulatory pressure to report salmon catch because the majority of North Atlantic salmon stocks are classified as suffering. The objective of this study is to measure salmon catch reporting compliance, reporting behavior, and attitudes toward Greenland's salmon management. We surveyed Greenland's licensed salmon fishers, …

Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Potomac River (Spring 2022), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. Landings from Chesapeake Bay typically represent 60% of the annual United States commercial harvest (ASMFC 2012). American Eel is also important to the recreational fishery as it is often used live as bait for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). In 2021, Chesapeake Bay commercial landings of American Eel (284,297 lbs) were 87% of the U.S. landings of yellow eel (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). …

A Cooperative High Precision Dredge Survey To Assess The Mid-Atlantic Sea Scallop Resource Area In 2019 And 2020: Final Report, Sally Roman, David Rudders

Reports

For the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, current and accurate information related to the abundance and distribution of adult and juvenile scallops is essential for effective management of the resource. Scallop management is a combination of input and output controls, with a focus on spatial area management. The continued prosperity of the scallop resource and fishery is dependent on both periodic and large incoming year classes, as well as a mechanism to delineate the scale of a recruitment event and subsequently monitor the growth and abundance of these scallops over time.

Acknowledging the importance of accurate, timely, and meaningful information …

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Temperate Demersal Elasmobranch Resource, Maddison Watt, Matias Braccini, K. A. Smith, Matthew Hourston

Fisheries research reports

In March 2021, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Department) convened an ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the fisheries that access the Temperate Demersal Elasmobranch Resource (Resource). ERAs are conducted by the Department as part of its Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management framework.

2021 Assessment Of The Status Of The West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource, David V. Fairclough, Sybrand Alexander Hesp, Ainslie Maree Denham, A. Fisher, Rachel Marks, K. L. Ryan, Elaine Lek, Rhys Allen, Brett M. Crisafulli

Fisheries research reports

A recovery program for the West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource was introduced between late 2007 and early 2010, based on the maintenance of retained catches of demersal species (overall suite and each indicator species) by both the commercial and recreational sectors below 50% of the catches reported in 2005/06 (original catch recovery benchmarks).

Using Citizen Science To Determine The Age Of Alewife Fish, Rodchill-Paul Jules

Honors Scholar Theses

Aging scales of economically important fish like the Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is a critical task in the fisheries industry, which can benefit from the help that citizen science offers. In order for those benefits to take effect, common people should be comfortable and fairly knowledgeable about what is expected of them in the study. Then, results can be generated in a way that gives all types of citizens a good opportunity to participate and produces reliable data that can be used for scientific purposes. This experiment studied the effects of simple word instructions versus diagramed instructions on the …

Annual Report - 2020 Data Collection And Analysis In Support Of Single And Multispecies Stock Assessments In Chesapeake Bay: The Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring And Assessment Program, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, Debra J. Gauthier, Robert J. Latour

Reports

Historically, fisheries management has been based on the results of single-species stock assessment models that focus on the interplay between exploitation level and sustainability. There currently exists a suite of standard and accepted analytical frameworks (e.g., virtual population analysis (VPA), biomass dynamic production modeling, delay difference models, etc.) for assessing the stocks, projecting future stock size, evaluating recovery schedules and rebuilding strategies for overfished stocks, setting allowable catches, and estimating fishing mortality or exploitation rates. A variety of methods also exist to integrate the biological system and the fisheries resource system, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternative management strategies on …

Vignette 09: Derelict Fishing Gear, Jason Morgan

Institute Publications

Derelict fishing gear—nets, pots, and other gear lost during fishing operations or vessel transit—has been implicated in several aspects of degradation in the Salish Sea. Derelict gear can degrade marine habitats by scouring or preventing habitat access through accumulation of gear or by fundamentally altering habitats by trapping fine sediments and changing the substrate. Derelict gear has also been implicated in the deaths of countless fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and invertebrates in the Salish Sea. The issue of derelict fishing gear affects all reaches of the Salish Sea, albeit on different scales, and the Northwest Straits Initiative has provided its …

Fishing And Rural Livelihood: A Philippine Context, Rosalina Palanca-Tan, Sheila Bongat-Bayog

Economics Department Faculty Publications

The Municipality of Lake Sebu in Mindanao; Philippines offers various opportunities for income-generating fishing activities with its abundant surface water bodies. Lake Sebu is particularly known for good quality tilapia; farmed in fish cages. This study employed primary data collection methods; namely key informant interview; focus group discussion and a comprehensive livelihood household survey to assess the conditions and problems constraining fishing households in Lake Sebu. The study found that fishing-related benefits were mainly derived from aquaculture. Capture fisheries are essentially very small-scale; low gear open fishing done by local fisher folk that generates only subsistence income. Local residents are …

Global Connectivity Of Southern Ocean Ecosystems, Eugene J. Murphy, Nadine M. Johnston, Eileen E. Hofmann, Richard A. Phillips, Jennifer A. Jackson, Andrew J. Constable, Sian F. Henley, Jessica Melbourne-Thomas, Rowan Trebilco, Rachel D. Cavanagh, Geraint A. Tarling, Ryan A. Saunders, David K.A. Barnes, Daniel P. Costa, Stuart P. Corney, Ceridwen I. Fraser, Juan Höfer, Kevin A. Hughes, Chester J. Sands, Sally E. Thorpe, Philip N. Trathan, José C. Xavier

CCPO Publications

Southern Ocean ecosystems are globally important. Processes in the Antarctic atmosphere, cryosphere, and the Southern Ocean directly influence global atmospheric and oceanic systems. Southern Ocean biogeochemistry has also been shown to have global importance. In contrast, ocean ecological processes are often seen as largely separate from the rest of the global system. In this paper, we consider the degree of ecological connectivity at different trophic levels, linking Southern Ocean ecosystems with the global ocean, and their importance not only for the regional ecosystem but also the wider Earth system. We also consider the human system connections, including the role of …

2021 Annual Report Estimating Relative Juvenile Abundance Of Ecologically Important Finfish In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay (1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Trawl Survey provides crucial data to state, regional, and national fisheries management agencies, including the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the Mid‐Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The MAFMC recognizes the juvenile trawl survey as one of the key predictors of Summer Flounder recruitment. Annual indices of juvenile abundance have been generated from trawl survey data for species of key recreational and ecological importance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay. These include Spot, Atlantic Croaker, Weakfish, Summer Flounder, Black Sea Bass, Scup, Striped Bass, White …