Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia, Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2004-2008 Annual Report, 1 September 2007 - 31 September 2008, Philip W. Sadler, John M. Hoenig, Robert E. Harris, Matthew W. Smith, Rebecca J. Wilk, Lydia M. Goins

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 September 2007 through 31 August 2008. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2008 spring spawning run, estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging, and the results of the study that documents the prevalence of mycobacterial infections of striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. 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 …

Shellfish Aquaculture Suitability Within Baylor Grounds Of The Lower Rappahannock River, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Should the Commonwealth of Virginia ever consider a regulated expansion of the aquaculture industry to public Baylor ground, timely information regarding the productivity of these grounds and the ability to support aquaculture would be highly desirable information. In this scenario, public bottom will be opened to private shellfish growers in the Commonwealth under what will likely be a tightly monitored regulation. The demise in productivity of natural oyster beds within Baylor Grounds is well known. However, there is no comprehensive resource that addresses whether Baylor Grounds would be suitable for aquaculture. This study uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 40, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

From Deadliest Catch to Sustainable Catch 2

Can the deep-sea red crab go from "generic crabmeat" to certified sustainable delicacy?

Captain Jon Williams thinks so, and he's enlisted the help of Virginia Sea Grant extension agents for research into methods of keeping the crabs alive onshore, as well as cooking, packaging, and marketing them.

Teachers Navigate the Web 6

This summer, the Web site that is teachers' preferred source for reliable marine science resources got a facelift. Virginia Sea Grant educators developed the Bridge a decade ago, and the site remains strong in the age of Google. …

Mycobacteriosis-Associated Mortality In Wild Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) From Chesapeake Bay, Usa, Dt Gauthier, R J. Latour, Dm Helsey, C F. Bonzek, J Gartland, Ej Burge, W. K. Vogelbein

VIMS Articles

The striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is an economically and ecologically important finfish species along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Recent stock assessments in Chesapeake Bay (USA) indicate that non-fishing mortality in striped bass has increased since 1999, concomitant with very high (>50%) prevalence of visceral and dermal disease caused by Mycobacterium spp. Current fishery assessment models do not differentiate between disease and other components of non-fishing mortality (e. g., senescence, predation); therefore, disease impact on the striped bass population has not been established. Specific measurement of mortality associated with mycobacteriosis in wild striped bass is complicated because …

Economic Implications Of Alternative Management Strategies For Virginia Oysters And Clams, Darrell Bosch, Nicolai V. Kuminoff, Anna Harris, Jaren C. Pope, Kurt Stephenson, Pamela Mason

Reports

The Virginia shellfish industry has historically been an important element of the state’s economy. After long-term downward trends in the harvest of wild stocks, clam and oyster production from shellfish aquaculture has been growing. This report provides an analysis of the possible ways to support and enhance this expansion through a variety of shellfish policy options. Three general classes of policy alternatives were considered: 1) state policy to increase private grounds available for shellfish production, 2) state research and development programs, and 3) various financial incentives to increase production. In general, the availability of suitable lease ground is not a …

Economic Outlook For Expansion Of The Eastern Shore Farmers’ Market: Seafood Handling, Storage, And Transportation Facility, Thomas J. Murray, James E. Kirkley

Reports

No abstract provided.

Interim Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In Selected Closed Areas: Georges Bank Area Ii And The Delmarva Closed Area, William D. Dupaul, David Rudders

Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, To The Potomac River (Spring 2008), Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American eel in November 1999. The FMP focuses on increasing coastal states’ efforts to collect American eel data through both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent studies. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young of the year (YOY) 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 …

Environmental Code Of Practices For The Virginia Shellfish Culture Industry, Michael Oesterling, Mark Luckenbach

Reports

No abstract provided.

Best Management Practices For The Virginia Shellfish Culture Industry, Michael Oesterling, Mark Luckenbach

Reports

No abstract provided.

Abstracts Of Technical Papers Presented At The 100th Annual Meeting National Shellfisheries Association Providence, Rhode Island April 6–10, 2008, National Shellfisheries Association

VIMS Articles

No abstract provided.

Whimbrel Tracked With Satellite Transmitter On Migratory Flight Across North America, B. D. Watts, B. R. Truitt, F. M. Smith, E. K. Mojica, Et Al.

Arts & Sciences Articles

"Two disjunct breeding populations of Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus have been described in the western hemisphere (American Ornithologists’ Union 1983). The western population breeds in portions of Alaska and across the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada while the eastern population breeds west and south of Hudson Bay (Skeel & Mallory 1996). Most of what we believe we know about the migratory pathways of these populations has been pieced together from circumstantial evidence gleaned from decades of field observations (Skeel & Mallory 1996, Taverner 1942). The populations have been thought to have separate migratory routes with little mixing where the western …

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

Reports

No abstract provided.

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young Of Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2007), Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American eel in November 1999. The FMP focuses on increasing coastal states’ efforts to collect American eel data through both fishery dependent and fishery independent studies. Consequently, member jurisdictions (including Virginia) agreed to implement an annual survey for YOY 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 …

Misuse Of Pcr Assay For Diagnosis Of Molluscprotistan Infections, Em Burreson

VIMS Articles

: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are useful tools for pathogen surveillance, butthey are only proxy indications of pathogen presence in that they detect a DNA sequence. To be use-ful for detection of actual infections, PCR assays must be thoroughly tested for sensitivity and speci-ficity, and ultimately validated against a technique, typically histology, which allows visualization ofthe parasite in host tissues. There is growing use of PCR assays for pathogen surveillance, but toooften the assumption is made that a positive PCR result verifies an infection in a tested host. Thisassumption is valid only if the assay has been properly validated …

An Evaluation Of Size Selectivity And Relative Efficiency Of Black Sea Bass, Centropristis Striata, Habitat Pots Equipped With Large Mesh Panels, David Rudders, Robert A. Fisher, Noelle Yochum

Reports

The black sea bass, Centropristis striata, fishery is in a state of transition. Regulatory changes found in Amendment #9 to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan implemented measures intended to both rebuild the stock and to maintain it at sustainable levels into the future. These measures included commercial quotas, commercial gear requirements, minimum size limits, recreational harvest limits, and permit and reporting requirements. One vital component contributing to the efficacy of these regulatory measures and future sustainability of the fishery are regulations that effectively protect sub-legal fish. The protection of sub-legal fish not only increases …

Final Report Calibrating Industry Scallop Surveys With Noaa Vessel Platforms, William D. Dupaul, David Rudders

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In Selected Closed Areas: Georges Bank Area I And Ii, Nantucket Lightship And Elephant Trunk, William D. Dupaul, David Rudders

Reports

No abstract provided.

Us Caribbean Fish Trap Fishery Socioeconomic Study, Jj Agar, Jr Waters, M Valdes-Pizzini, M Shivlani, T Murray, Je Kirkley, D Suman

VIMS Articles

Concerns over the potential impacts of trap fishing on coral reefs and associated habitats prompted a socioeconomic study to characterize the U.S. Caribbean fish trap fishery in anticipation of management actions. Stratified random interviews of one hundred fishermen revealed the presence of a diverse fishery, with appreciable inter-island differences in levels of fishing dependence, fishing practices, and capital investment. High levels of fishing dependence Were observed among fishermen in the U.S. Virgin Islands, whereas Puerto Rican fishermen exhibited a more diversified livelihood strategy. Fishermen from St. Croix derived 62% of their household income from fish traps, significantly more than fishermen …

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation And Outlook Report : Results Of The 2007 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey, Thomas J. Murray, Michael J. Oesterling

Reports

Continued growth of the shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia has added significant value to the state’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the state’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing quantities of additional quality shellfish to consumers. Following the lead of the hard clam industry, there has been a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters in recent years. The once extensive oyster planting has disappeared primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its …

Final Report - 2007 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, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland

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 …

Monitoring Relative Abundance Of American Shad In Virginia Rivers 2007 Annual Report, John E. Olney, Brian Watkins

Reports

Concern about the decline in landings of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) along the Atlantic coast prompted the development of an interstate fisheries management plan (FMP) under the auspices of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Program (ASMFC 1999). Legislation enables imposition of federal sanctions on fishing in those states that fail to comply with the FMP. To be in compliance, coastal states are required to implement and maintain fishery-dependent and fishery-independent monitoring programs as specified by the FMP. For Virginia, these requirements include spawning stock assessments, the collection of biological data on the spawning run (e.g., age-structure, sex ratio, and …

Northeast Area Monitoring And Assessment Program (Neamap) Mid-Atlantic Nearshore Trawl Program Progress Report: Fall 2007 Survey Data Summary, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, J. David Lange, Robert J. Latour

Reports

Concerns regarding the status of fishery-independent data collection from the continental shelf waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and the U.S. / Canadian border led the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Management and Science Committee (MSC) to draft a resolution in 1997 calling for the formation the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) (ASMFC 2002). NEAMAP is a cooperative state-federal program modeled after the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), which had been coordinating fishery-independent data collection south of Cape Hatteras since the mid-1980s (Rester 2001). The four main goals of this new program directly address the …

Six Fish And 600,000 Thirsty Folks—A Fishing Moratorium On American Shad Thwarts A Controversial Municipal Reservoir Project In Virginia, Usa, J. E. Olney, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner, Lyle M. Varnell, Harry V. Wang, Roger L. Mann

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Moratoria on fishing directly impact fishers, distributors and marketers of product and can have serious socio-economic implications. Moratoria can impact communities but usually populations closely linked to the banned activity. In an unprecedented example, a moratorium on fishing in Virginia has directly impacted a nonfishing citizenry by thwarting plans for a public utility. In May 2003, a panel empowered to regulate marine resources denied permission to withdraw raw water from a pristine freshwater river, the Mattaponi. The controversial action spoiled a multi-million dollar plan to establish the King William Reservoir, a water source considered essential to future growth and development …

Developing An Alternative Fishery For Virginia Watermen: The Case For Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus Tau), Dan Kauffman, Jim Casey

Reports

This project sought to determine if a crabber by-catch, oyster toads, can be kept alive and marketed successfully so that both crabbers and distributors can gain supplemental income. Other Virginia crabbers and distributors have previously tried selling live toads but evetually abandoned or severely restricted their operations because of mortality problems.

Comparative Visual Function In Five Sciaenid Fishes Inhabiting Chesapeake Bay, Az Horodysky, Richard Brill, Ej Warrant, Ja Musick, Rj Latour

VIMS Articles

Maintaining optimal visual performance is a difficult task in the photodynamic coastal and estuarine waters in which western North Atlantic sciaenid fishes support substantial commercial and recreational fisheries. Unavoidable tradeoffs exist between visual sensitivity and resolution, yet sciaenid visual systems have not been characterized despite strong species-specific ecomorphological and microhabitat differentiation. We therefore used electroretinographic techniques to describe the light sensitivities, temporal properties, and spectral characteristics of the visual systems of five sciaenids common to Chesapeake Bay, USA: weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) and spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). Benthic sciaenids exhibited …

Environmental Distribution And Persistence Of Quahog Parasite Unknown (Qpx), Rj Gast, Dm Moran, Corinne Audemard, Mm Lyons, J Defavari, Kimberly S. Reece, D Leavitt, R Smolowitz

VIMS Articles

Quahog Parasite Unknown (QPX) is the cause of mass mortality events of hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria from Virginia, USA, to New Brunswick, Canada. Aquaculture areas in Massachusetts, USA, have been particularly hard hit. The parasite has been shown to be a directly infective organism, but it is unclear whether it could exist or persist outside of its clam host. We used molecular methods to examine water, sediment, seaweeds, seagrass and various invertebrates for the presence of QPX. Sites in Virginia and Massachusetts were selected based upon the incidence of QPX-induced clam die-offs, and they were monitored seasonally. QPX was detectable …

Molecular Epizootiology Of Perkinsus Marinus And P-Chesapeaki Infections Among Wild Oysters And Clams In Chesapeake Bay, Usa, Kimberly S. Reece, Cf Dungan, Em Burreson

VIMS Articles

Perkinsus marinus and P. chesapeaki host ranges among wild Chesapeake Bay, USA, region bivalves were examined by surveying Crassostrea virginica oysters and members of several sympatric clam species from 11 locations. Perkinsus genus- and species-specific PCR assays were performed on DNA samples from 731 molluscs, and species-specific in situ hybridization assays were performed on a selected subset of histological samples whose PCR results indicated dual or atypical Perkinsus sp. infections. PCR assays detected P. marinus in 92% of oysters, but the P. chesapeaki PCR assay was positive for only 6% of oysters, and P. marinus was detected by PCR in …

Shellfish Tissues Evaluated For Perkinsus Spp. Using The Ray's Fluid Thioglycollate Medium Culture Assay Can Be Used For Downstream Molecular Assays, C Audemard, Rb Carnegie, Em Burreson

VIMS Articles

Ray's fluid thioglycollate medium (RFTM) culture assay is the standard, recommended method for surveillance of Perkinsus spp. infections in marine molluscs. In this assay, shellfish tissues are incubated in RFTM, stained with Lugol's iodine solution to render Perkinsus spp. cells blue-black, and evaluated microscopically to rate infection intensities. A limitation of this assay, however, is the lack of pathogen species specificity. Generally, identification of Perkinsus spp. requires DNA sequence analysis of parallel or additional samples since the exposure to iodine is believed to hamper DNA amplification from samples processed by the RFTM assay. However, we show that P, marinus DNA …

Effects Of Rapid Decompression And Exposure To Bright Light On Visual Function In Black Rockfish (Sebastes Melanops) And Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis), Richard Brill, Christopher Magel, Michael Davis, Robert Hannah, Polly Rankin

VIMS Articles

Demersal Fishes hauled up from depth experience rapid decompression. In physoclists, this can cause overexpansion of the swim bladder and resultant injuries to multiple organs (barotrauma), including severe exophthalmia ("pop-eye"). Before release, fishes can also be subjected to asphyxia and exposure to direct sunlight. Little is known, however, about possible sensory deficits resulting from the events accompanying capture. To address this issue, electroretinography was used to measure the changes in retinal light sensitivity, flicker fusion frequency, and spectral sensitivity in black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) subjected to rapid decompression (from 4 atmospheres absolute [ATA] to 1 ATA) and Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus …