Life Sciences Commons^™

The Status Of Virginia'a Public Oyster Resource 2023, Melissa Southworth, Roger L. Mann

Reports

No abstract provided.

Capfish Project Report : Phase 1 Outcomes And Summer Academy For The Mediterranean, World Maritime University

Reports

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a complex and multifaceted problem, with disastrous consequences for aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. Over the past three years, the CAPFISH Project has strengthened capacity to fight IUU fishing by providing training and educational materials to developing country administrations around the world, most recently with a two-week regional Summer Academy for the Mediterranean. The Academy ran for two weeks and targeted delegates from fisheries administrations in developing countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Europe, as a way to promote inter-regional learning and …

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia: Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2023 Progress Report, Robert J. Latour, Christopher F. Bonzek, Gina M. Ralph, James Gartland

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 December 2022 through 30 November 2023. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2023 spring spawning run and estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass in Virginia, and along the eastern seaboard.

Final Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In The Nantucket Lightship Closed Area, Sally Roman, David Rudders

Reports

For the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, the concepts of space and time have emerged as the basis of an effective management tool. The strategy of rotational area management has aided in the sustainability of the resource. Since 2003 with the adoption of Amendment 10 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP), rotational area management has provided a mechanism to protect juvenile scallops from fishing mortality by closing areas based on scallop abundance and observed length distributions. Approximately half of the sea scallop industry’s current annual landings are attributed to areas under this rotational harvest strategy. While this represents a management success, …

Final Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In The Georges Bank Access Areas And Surrounds, Sally Roman, David Rudders

Reports

For the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, the concepts of space and time have emerged as the basis of an effective management tool. The strategy of rotational area management has aided in the sustainability of the resource. Since 2003 with the adoption of Amendment 10 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP), rotational area management has provided a mechanism to protect juvenile scallops from fishing mortality by closing areas based on scallop abundance and observed length distributions. Approximately half of the sea scallop industry’s current annual landings are attributed to areas under this rotational harvest strategy. While this represents a management success, …

Final Report In Situ High-Definition Camera Monitoring To Evaluate Catch Efficiency And Performance Of A Survey Dredge, Sally Roman, Christopher Rillahan, David Rudders, Pingguo He

Reports

For the sea scallop, Placopecten magellanicus, the concepts of space and time have emerged as the basis of an effective management tool. The strategy of rotational access area management has gained support as a method to conserve and enhance the scallop resource. In the last decade, rotational area management has provided a mechanism to protect juvenile scallops from fishing mortality by closing areas based on scallop abundance and age distribution. Approximately half of the sea scallop industry’s current annual landings come from areas under this rotational harvest strategy. While this represents a management success, it also highlights the extent to …

2024 Yellowtail Flounder Research Track Assessment Working Paper: Yellowtail Flounder Estimates From The Vims Industry-Based Scallop Dredge Surveys, Sally Roman, David Rudders

Reports

The U.S. Atlantic sea scallop fishery is supported by an extensive research program, referred to as a Research Set-aside (RSA) program. The RSA program administers a competitive grants program through the allocation of a portion of the annual fishery quota to fund sea scallop research. A high priority of this program has traditionally been to fund fishery-independent surveys that employ different gears types including commercial dredges, a standardized sea scallop survey dredge, and cameras to assess the sea scallop resource across the species range in U.S. waters. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) has been funded through this program …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2022, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2022, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 27-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of William & Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

The main goal of the program is to train and maintain an experienced group of anglers who volunteer their time to properly tag and release fishes. Data on tagged and recaptured fish are summarized in annual reports and are accessible on VIMS …

The Status Of Virginia’S Public Oyster Resource 2022, Melissa Southworth, Roger L. Mann

Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia: Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2022 Progress Report, Robert J. Latour, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 December 2020 through 30 November 2021. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2021 spring spawning run and estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass in Virginia, and along the eastern seaboard.

Capacity-Building Project To Progress The Implementation Of International Instruments To Combat Iuu Fishing (Capfish) : Workshop 3, 18-21 October 2022, World Maritime University

Reports

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a complex and multifaceted problem, with dire consequences for aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. It particularly affects developing countries, and is estimated to cost the global economy USD 20 billion each year. This represents foregone taxes, license fees, and revenue from resources that could have been legally exploited. Future opportunities are also lost as fish stocks dwindle and collapse, with knock-on socioeconomic effects. As those involved in IUU fishing seek to cut costs wherever possible, and are often involved in other illegal activities, IUU fishing …

Estimation Of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay Annual Progress Report: 2022 - 2023, Jack R. Buchanan, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The 2022 juvenile Striped Bass abundance index was 7.95 and was not significantly different than the reference mean of 7.77 for the period 1980 to 2009. Abundance indices were average in the York and Rappahannock rivers and below average in the James River in 2022 compared with the river-specific reference means (1980-2009). Relatively low catches of young‐of‐the‐year Striped Bass from sites upriver and downriver of core nursery areas suggest juvenile Striped Bass largely remained within core nursery areas in 2022.

Indices of abundance were also calculated for three additional economically and recreationally important fishes in Virginia waters. Juvenile White Perch …

2023 Annual Report: Estimating Relative Juvenile Abundance Of Ecologically Important Finfish In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The VIMS Juvenile Fish 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). 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 Perch, White Catfish, Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, Silver Perch, American Eel, and Bay Anchovy. …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2022), Troy D. Tuckey, Daniel Royster, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American Eel in November 1999. The FMP calls for efforts to collect American Eel data through both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent studies in coastal states. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young-of-year (YOY or glass) American Eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the YOY eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American Eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast” (ASMFC 2000). The development of these surveys began in 2000 with …

[Draft] Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Potomac River, 2023, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Results For The 2022 Vims Industry Cooperative Surveys Of The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Nantucket Lightship, Southern Flank, And Closed Area Ii Resource Areas, Sally A. Roman, David A. Rudders

Reports

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) conducted high resolution sea scallop dredge surveys of the entire Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and portions of Georges Bank (GB) including the Nantucket Lightship (NL), the Southern Flank (SF), Closed Area II (CA) Extension, and CAII during May–June 2022 (Figure 1). These surveys were funded by the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program (RSA). Exploitable biomass for each survey is shown in Table 1 for each spatially explicit SAMS Area (Scallop Area Management Simulator). SAMS Areas represent management relevant spatial subunits of the resource and explicitly account for differences in recruitment, vital rates, and fishing …

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 …

Age Based Assessment In The Sea Scallop Placopecten Magellanicus: A Pilot Study - Final Report, Roger L. Mann, David Rudders, Sally Roman, Melissa Southworth, Kaitlyn R. Clark

Reports

If the current sea scallop fishery is well managed with a Catch At Size Analysis (CASA) length structured model, then why bother with an age based assessment? The success of the CASA based approach, in conjunction with management measures, is demonstrated by the development of the scallop fishery over the past two decades to its current status as the one of the most valuable fisheries on the Atlantic coast of the United States (NOAA, 2021). But, even the best length-based model can be improved by the addition of age data. An age-based model calibrates a length-based model, including a description …

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 …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2021, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2021, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 26-year database of rec-ords for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of William & Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

The main goal of the program is to train and maintain an experienced group of anglers who volunteer their time to properly tag and release fishes. Data on tagged and recaptured fish are summarized in annual reports.

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2021), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American Eel in November 1999. The FMP calls for efforts to collect American Eel data through both fishery‐dependent and fishery‐independent studies in coastal states. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young‐of‐year (YOY or glass) American Eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the YOY eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American Eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast” (ASMFC 2000). The development of these surveys began in 2000 with …

The Status Of Virginia’S Public Oyster Resource 2021, Melissa Southworth, Roger L. Mann

Reports

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) monitors recruitment of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791), annually from late spring through early fall, by deploying spatfall1 (settlement and recruitment of larval oysters to the post metamorphic form termed spat) collectors (shellstrings) at various sites in three Virginia western Chesapeake Bay tributaries. The survey provides an estimate of a particular area’s potential for receiving a "strike" or settlement (set) of oysters on the bottom and helps describe the timing of recruitment events in a given year. Information obtained from this monitoring effort provides an overview of long-term recruitment trends in …

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia: Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2021 Progress Report - 1 December 2020 - 30 November 2021, Robert J. Latour, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 December 2020 through 30 November 2021. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2021 spring spawning run and estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass in Virginia, and along the eastern seaboard.

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2021 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-fourth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2021, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020).

We also report on two fishery independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 4) and the Chickahominy River (year 7; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2022 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2022, evaluating hatchery programs and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007a; ASMFC 2020). We also report on a fishery-independent monitoring program to determine abundance and stock structure of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in Virginia by evaluating the adult spawning runs in the Chickahominy River, a major tributary of the James River, and the Rappahannock River. Further, a …

Estimation Of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay Annual Progress Report: 2021 - 2022, Jack R. Buchanan, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The 2021 juvenile Striped Bass abundance index was 6.30 and was not significantly different than the reference mean of 7.77 for the period 1980 to 2009. Abundance indices were average in the York and Rappahannock rivers and below average in the James River in 2021 compared with the river‐specific reference means (1980‐2009). Relatively low catches of young‐of‐the‐year Striped Bass from sites upriver and downriver of core nursery areas suggest juvenile Striped Bass largely remained within core nursery areas in 2021.

Juvenile abundance indices for Alewife, American Shad, Atlantic Croaker, Atlantic Silverside, and Spot were generally below their historic averages in …

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 …