Life Sciences Commons^™

The Hard Clam Fishery Problems And Approaches, Andre C. Kvaternik, William D. Dupaul

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linne, 1758), is a euryhaline bivalve found along the eastern and Gulf coasts of North America (Abbott 1954, Carriker, 1961; Wass, 1972, Miller et al., 1975). It is an important commercial bivalve along the Atlantic Coast (Belding, 1912; Tiller et al., 1952; Andrews, 1970; Castagna and Haven, 1972; McHugh, 1972, 1977, 1982; Miller et al., 1975). Hard clams are consumed in a wide variety of ways, with the larger clams (>80 nun) being used in chowder and the smaller and more succulent littlenecks (< 60 nun) ("necks") and cherrystones (61-80 rrm) ("cherries") being eaten either steamed or raw on the half shell. The fishery for hard clams in the Chesapeake Bay is presently only understood on a broad scale. ... more..

Blue Crab Mortalities Associated With Pesticides, Herbicides, Temperature, Salinity, And Dissolved Oxygen, Willard A. Van Engel

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Commercial fisheries landings of the blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay have fluctuated widely since the late 1920s (Figure I). Records of annual landings prior to 1929 are sparse and permit little more than a guess of trends, although a discontinuous series of catch records from 1907 to 1926 from individual watermen, on file at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), may provide sufficient baseline data for interpretations or estimates of trends in the early period.

Pertintent Statistical Data For The Management Of Maryland And Virginia Fisheries, Philip W. Jones, Joseph Loesch

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Statistical records of the cpmmercial fisheries of Chesapeake Bayl, which have been compiled periodically since 1887 and annually since 1929, are the basis of our historical knowledge of commercial landings and fishing effort in Maryland and Virginia waters. The primary purpose of collecting commercial fisheries statistics has been to determine the number of fishermen, gear, and boats in the commercial fishery, and the total weight of each species landed. Prior to 1944, these statistics were estimated for both Maryland and Virginia fisheries from correspondence or interviews between federal and state personnel and large-scale commercial fishing operations, representative watermen, captains of …

A Study Of The Present State Of Oyster Statistics In Chesapeake Bay And Suggested Remedial Measure, George E. Krantz, Dexter S. Haven

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Accurate, detailed and timely information on oyster landings are essential to the efficient management of the oyster resources of Chesapeake Bay. Basic types of i_nformation needed are volumes of oysters harvested on: a) designated public beds; b) unassigned bottoms; and c) leased areas. These data need to be as site specific as possible and include the type of harvest gear. Moreover, it is essential to know the portion of harvest which results from state repletion activities (planted shells or seed) and that part originating from natural production. Price, method of harvest, the buyers and sellers identifi_cation, and other similar data …

Life History, Ecology And Stock Assessment Of The Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus Of The United States Atlantic Coast - A Review, Robert E. Harris

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The blue crab is found along the Atlantic coast of the United States from Maine to southern Florida. It is uncommon north of Cape Cod and is most abundant in the Chesapeake Bay where almost half of the United States commercial blue crab landings occur.

The Chesapeake Bay has the largest semi-confined area for blue crab spawning, more nursery area and probably the best mix of environmental conditions for blue crab along the United States eastern coast. In addition, an intensive commercial fishery enables the Chesapeake Bay region to be the area of highest blue crab production.

There are many …

Distribution And Abundance Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Orth, Kenneth A. Moore

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The Chesapeake Bay, with its extensive littoral zone and broad salinity regime of Oto 25 ppt, supports many different species of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) (Anderson 1972, Stevenson and Confer 1978, Orth et al. 1979). Approximately ten species of submerged vascular plants are abundant in the Bay, with another ten species occurring less frequently. In many areas, more than one species is found in a particular bed of SAV because of the similarity in the physiological tolerances of some species. Between regions of the Bay, salinity appears to be the most important factor in controlling the species composition of an …

Toxic Substances, R. Bieri, O. Bricker, R. Byrne, R. J. Diaz, Et Al

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

This part of the CBP Synthesis Report summarizes and integrates the research findings and reconnnendations of 13 projects of the Chesapeake Bay Toxic Substances Program performed between July 1978 and October 1981. The following sections describe research on potentially toxic substances, or toxicants, in water-sediments and selected biota. The subjects considered include a brief review of metals, their sources, distribution and behavior, and then a review of sources and distribution of organic chemicals. Finally, information concerning the significance of toxicants in the- Bay and their pattern of enrichment is provided. Most information synthesized in this report can be traced to …

Light And Submerged Macrophyte Communities In Chesapeake Bay: A Scientific Summary, Richard L. Wetzel, Robin F. Van Tine, Polly A. Penhale

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The initial focus of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) research in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) was evaluation of the structural and functional ecology of these communities. In the upper Bay, Myriophyllum spicatum and Potamogeton perfoliatus are the dominant species; the dominant species in the lower Bay are Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima. Studies centered on various aspects of productivity (both primary and secondary), trophic structure, and resource utilization by both ecologically and economically important species. Much of the initial research was descriptively oriented because of a general lack of information on Chesapeake Bay submerged plant …

The Chesapeake Bay Fisheries A Scientific Perspective, Hubert M. Austin

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Fisheries science plays a dual role in support -of management of living marine resources. A fisheries scientist is an advisor to a local, state, regional, national or international fisheries management or regulation agency, providing scientific information on the living marine resource to the agency so that informed decisions may be made. As such, scientific data, analyses, and information can have a significant impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of major segments of the population, as well as on the viability of the fishery stock. This information must be drawn from critical scientific analyses of data, the output from field assessment programs, …

The Blue Crab Fisheries In The Chesapeake Bay Problems And Approaches, W. A. Van Engel, C. F. Bonzek, Ray Dintaman

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Regulations of the blue crab (Calinectes sapidus) fishery in the Chesapeake Bay have been based on empirical reasoning involving biological, economic, political and sociological considerations. These regulations cover licensing, size and sex limits, quotas, seasons, and gear restrictions. They are designed to promote utilization of the resource for near maximum production, a reasonable economic return from adequate catch per unit of effort, and orderly fishing to minimize conflicts between units and types of gear.

Finfisheries Problems And Approaches, John V. Merriner, Harley J. Spier

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The fisheries data of principal concern at this conference are those which provide an accurate description of the harvest from the resource. Most often, one thinks of the "standard" reference fishery data from commercial fish landings: pounds by species, dockside dollar value, location of the catch, gear used, and number of fishermen. These data have been widely used by biologists and managers to evaluate the status of particular stocks and trends in the fishery. An example of a recent evaluation for Chesapeake Bay fisheries is Rothschild et ·a1. (1981). Several underlying truths must be borne in mind when discussing territorial …