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Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 45, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Taking Stock of Working Waterfronts 2

An inventory of Virginia’s working waterfronts will help communities maintain the water access that is crucial to a variety of marine business and recreational uses.

Up Close 6

Virginia Sea Grant researcher Jessica Thompson and her students are taking a careful look at how an important little fish uses man-made living shorelines.

Global Aquaculture Starts at Home 8

Aquaculture is an important component of the future world food supply, and VASG staff are helping ensure it will be profitable and safe —in Virginia and around the world.

Virginia Sea Grant News …

Bivalve Molluscs: Barometers Of Climate Change In Arctic Marine Systems, Roger Mann, Daphne M. Munroe, Eric N. Powell, Eileen E. Hoffmann, John M. Klinck

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Bivalve mollusks store a complete history of their life in the growth lines in their valves. Through sclerochronology, in combination with isotope signatures, it is possible to reconstruct both post-recruitment growth history at the individual level and commensurate environmental records of temperature and salinity. Growth patterns are integrators of local primary productivity; spatial and temporal changes in growth illustrate commensurate patterns of food availability. Mactrid clams are long-lived, benthic dominant species found on inner continental shelves throughout the Northern Hemisphere where they variously support major fisheries (Spisula solidissima in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, Mactromeris polynyma in eastern Canada, Spisula sachalinensis …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 44, No. 2, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Research Ready 2

Virginia Sea Grant supports a portfolio of science and social science research that has tangible benefits for coastal ecosystems and communities. Some of these exciting research efforts are featured in this issue.

Terrapin Files 4

Diamondback terrapins face a variety of threats—from coastal development to crab fishing. A team of VASG-funded researchers are mapping terrapin habitat and threats to aid in the development of effective management strategies.

Nutrient Flow in Clam Aquaculture 8

Virginia’s Eastern Shore is home to a fast-growing clam aquaculture in - dustry. This photo-essay features research on the effects of …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 44, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Focus on Students 2

Virginia Sea Grant is helping to train the next generation of experts— from undergraduate marketing students to Ph.D. researchers to photog - raphy interns. Throughout this issue, we feature exciting student work.

Leading Learning 4

A team of students and faculty from the University of Virginia are help - ing the City of Virginia Beach prepare for and adapt to sea level rise.

Tasting the Wares 8

More than 200 people attended the Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association’s 2nd Annual Half Shell Oyster Tasting event in November. This photo-essay presents some of the images …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 43, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Lessons in Green Fish Farming 2

One Eastern Shore aquaculture operation is pioneering the use of alternative energy solutions in Virginia fish farming—and hoping to set an example for other marine businesses in Virginia and beyond.

Building a Living Shoreline 6

This fall at Deltaville Yachting Center, volunteers gathered to help the owners find a more natural way of combatting coastal erosion. See how they did it in this photo-essay.

Working Waterfronts and Waterways 8

Coastal populations are booming, making access to the water a national problem. Virginia Sea Grant is collaborating with several other programs to …

Ecological Role Of Blue Catfish In Chesapeake Bay Communities And Implications For Management, Ryan W. Schloesser, Mary C. Fabrizio, Robert J. Latour, Greg C. Garman, Bob Greenlee, Mary Groves, James Gartland

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Rapid increase in abundance and expanded distribution of introduced blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus populations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have raised regional management concerns. This study uses information from multiple surveys to examine expansion of blue catfish populations and document their role in tidal river communities. Originally stocked in the James, York, and Rappahannock River systems for development of commercial and recreational fisheries, blue catfish have now been documented in adjacent rivers and have expanded their within-river distribution to oligo- and mesohaline environments. Range expansions coincided with periods of peak abundance in 1996 and 2003 and with the concurrent decline …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 42, No. 2, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Scientists in the Classroom 2

The PERFECT Program is taking marine science graduate smdents out of their labs and into K-12 classrooms. Last year, nine VIMS smdents taught in local schools and developed their science communication skills in the process. This fall, a new cohort of scientists-in-training is poised to enter the program.

Spadefish Aquaculture 8

VIMS and Virginia Sea Grant researchers have reared this popular sportfish through the entire life cycle in captivity, opening the way to farming the species for food, for the aquarium trade, or for stock enhancement.

Planning Underwater I0

More and more …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 42, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

From Discovery to Market 2

Virginia Tech’s Zhiyou Wen is looking for a way to capitalize on a chance connection between the biodiesel industry and the demand for omega-3 fatty acids. Algae that grow on waste glycerol from biofuel production can turn that byproduct into omega-3s for use in a variety of foods and nutritional products.

Marketer, Educator, Processor …and waterman 6

One Virginia fishing family is taking on all of these roles and more to sell their catch directly to consumers at farmers’ markets. They are also spreading the word to other watermen about the increased …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 41, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Forecasting the Rising Tide 2

Coastal Virginia is one of the most vulnerable areas in the country to sea-level rise. With help from Sea Grant, VIMS researchers are helping Virginia communities predict and prepare for the increasingly frequent floods that climate change and rising seas will bring.

Trabajadores 6

The new workforce in seafood processing is a growing population of seasonal migrant workers—almost all of them hispanic. Sea Grant is helping these workers and the foods they process stay safe by providing specialized on-the-job training in Spanish.

Sowing the Seeds 10

A technique called spat-on-shell is promising …

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. …

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 …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 39, No. 3, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE

Cobia Research Helps Aquaculture 2

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum, L.) have many characteristics that make them a promising species for aquaculture production. However, there are a few obstacles to be overcome before mass production takes off. Virginia Sea Grant is funding research on larval morphology in cobia that may help develop commercial feed and improve survivability of larval cobia.

Reality Science 5

The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is a network of observing platforms that measure and collect data on the state of the oceans. The wealth of data collected by GOOS is available not only to scientists …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 39, No. 2, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

The Fish that Saved Jamestown 2

This year, America celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. However, one crucial player in the Jamestown story may have been forgotten amid all the festivities - the Atlantic sturgeon - the "fish that saved Jamestown." Erin Seiling pulls together historic artifacts and notes that detail how important the species was to the colony.

State of the Sturgeon 6

As a species, Atlantic sturgeon are millions of years old, but much is still unknown about these ancient fish. Researchers at Virginia Sea Grant and the Virginia Institute of Marine …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 39, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE

Working Waterways and Waterfronts 2007 2

Conference announcement from Virginia Sea Grant.

A Tale of Three Cities 3

Waterfront access is an issue that affects waterfront users, both large and small. This article highlights struggles three of the nation's largest commercial fishing communities- Gloucester, Massachusetts, Fulton's Fish Market in New York and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco - have faced in recent years. Each story provides insight in coping with diminishing waterfront access that may be applied to our own local communities.

Coastal Culture and its Change of Character 7

New development along the Eastern Shore threatens …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 38, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Workboat Racing: A Bay Tradition 2

Workboat races have a long and storied history on the Chesapeake Bay. Since the early 1980s, Virginia Sea Grant has been involved in bringing this bay tradition to the forefront of local waterfront celebrations. Jon Lucy provides a history of the boats, the watermen and the modern-day race events.

Why Every Marina Should Be A Clean Marina 7

The Virginia Clean Marina Program promotes voluntary environmental protection. The program, designed to protect and promote clean waterways, has been widely successful in the state. Tom Murray and Pete Hall discuss the process …

Mycobacterial Infections In Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) From Delaware Bay, Christopher A. Ottinger, J. Jed Brown, Et Al, Martha Rhodes, Howard Kator, David T. Gauthier, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Much of what is known of mycobacteriosis in wild striped bass from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States is based on our observations from Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, where high infection prevalence and lesioned fish are frequently observed. Comparatively, the occurrence and severity of mycobacteriosis in striped bass from watersheds adjacent to Chesapeake Bay are relatively unknown. This study represents the first report on mycobacterial infection in striped bass harvested from two sites in Delaware Bay.

Epizootic Mycobacteriosis In Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass: What Is The Fate Of Infected Fish?, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, John M. Hoenig, David T. Gauthier

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay, USA, are currently experiencing an epizootic of mycobacteriosis. Visceral disease prevalence in resident fish exceeds 50% and prevalence of skin ulcers can exceed 30% in some areas. Two primary hypotheses regarding emergence of this chronic bacterial disease propose that anthropogenic stressors constitute important underlying modulating factors

The Ecology Of Mycobacteria Infecting Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) In Chesapeake Bay: A Research Plan, Howard Kator, Martha Rhodes, David Gauthier

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The ecology of mycobacteria in estuarine and marine waters remains poorly understood. The current epizootic in Chesapeake Bay striped bass and newly described pathogens Mycobacterium shottsii and M. pseudoshottsii raise ecological questions that if answered can improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of mycobacteriosis in this fish species.

Epizootiology Of Mycobacteriosis In Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis): Large-Scale Field Survey, David T. Gauthier, Robert Latour, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Striped bass in Virginia and Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay are experiencing an ongoing epizootic of mycobacteriosis. Visceral disease prevalence exceeding 50% has been reported in several locations by various authors, and skin lesion prevalence exceeding 30% has been observed. The high prevalence of skin lesions observed in Chesapeake Bay striped bass is unusual and has not, to our knowledge, been reported previously in wild fishes.

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 37, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In this Issue

Brave New World - Charlie Petrocci 2

Taking Over the Neighborhood - Sally Mills 7

Angling for Answers - Kon Lucy 14

A New Niche for Fluke - Andrea Correa de Yalowitz 18

News From the Point 20

Introduction: Management Of Sharks And Their Relatives (Elasmobranchii), John A. Musick

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

This publication describes the scientific principles and techniques used for resource management of elasrnobranch fisheries with emphasis on the particular context of elasmobranchs. The management characteristics of these fishes are described - their common bycatch character and their biological constraints on productivity (low growth rate, late maturity and Tow fecundity). Stock assessment of elasrnobranchs is described in the context of rnanagement objectives in a wide management context. Special attention is given to accurate species identification given the prevalent aggregating of landings data across species, genera and often families in this group. Techniques and experiences for tagging elasmobranchs for population estimation …

Shark Utilization, John A. Musick

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Sharks and their relatives provide a multitude of usable products including: meat, fins, liver, skin, cartilage and jaws and teeth. Unfortunately, tens of millions of sharks taken in fisheries each year have their fins removed and their carcasses discarded overboard (Fowler and Musick, 2002). This practice, called finning, represents a considerable waste as the fins on average make up only about 5 % of the total weight of a shark (Vannuccini, 1999). Such waste is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Article 7.2.2 (g)) which stresses the importance of avoiding …

Mortality Estimation, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Ramon Bonfil, Robert J. Latour

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Mortality is an essential parameter in understanding the dynamics of any population and sharks are no exception. Without knowledge of how fast individuals are removed from a population it is impossible to model the population dynamics or estimate sustainable rates of exploitation or other useful management parameters.

Reproductive Biology, Christina L. Conrath

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Several reproductive specializations are found within the elasmobranchs. All elasmobranchs fertilize internally and produce a relatively small number of large eggs. Elasmobranch fecundity generally ranges from one to two offspring produced a year up to a maximum of 300 in the whale shark (Compagno, 1990; Joung et al., 1996). Elasmobranch reproductive strategies include oviparity, aplacental viviparity and placental viviparity (Wourms, 1977). Oviparous species enclose eggs in an egg case and deposit them into the environment, where embryos develop external to the body of the mother . .Embryos remain in the egg case to develop for a period ranging from less …

Tagging Methods And Associated Data Analysis, Robert J. Latour

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Tagging methods have a long history of use as tools to study animal populations. Although the first attempts to mark an animal occurred sometime between 218 and 201 B.C. (a Roman officer tied a note describing plans for military action to the leg of a swallow and when the bird was released it returned to its nest, which was in close proxiD?ity to the military outpost in need of the information), it is uncertain when fish :"ere first marked (McFarlane, Wydoski and Prince, 1990). An early report published 1? The_ Comp/eat Angler in 1653 by Isaak Walton described how private …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 36, No. 3, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Breathing New Life Into an Old Trade  Sally Mills

The Intracoastal Waterway: Connecting People & Communities  Charlie Petrocci

Economic Assessment of AIWW Needed The Indoor Ocean: A View of Marine Finfish Aquaculture Across Virginia  Angela I. Correa

Clean Marina Program Welcomes 2 More to its Ranks  Sally Mills

News from the Point

New Publication

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 36, No. 2, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In this Issue

Fishing for Facts: Shark Research & 2 Conservation in Action - W. Matthew Shipman

Studying the Mysterious Denizens of the Deep The VIMS longline survey continues. Find out what we know, and don’t know, about sharks along the Virginia coast.

A Popular Dinner Guest - Charlie Petrocci

Tagging Program Provides Insight on Flounder- Jon Lucy Summer flounder are sought after by both commercial and recreational fishermen, and this season has witnessed lots of action.

Slowing Down the [e]Waste Stream - Sally Mills

One Man’s Hard Drive Doing some summer cleaning? If your closet is filled with an …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 36, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

Dameron Marsh in the Morning - Randall Shank

Been to the Northern Neck recently? Now you can view the

Chesapeake amid the meandering salt grasses at Dameron Marsh.

How Clean is Clean Enough? - Sally Mills

Responses of organisms to even low doses of contaminants

sparks questions about clean-up at industrial sites.

10,000 Years of Feasting - Charlie Petrocci

Celebrate warmer temperatures and head east to attend one of

Virginia’s upcoming seafood festivals.

Waste Not - Angela Correa

Two methods of transforming waste into valuable compost mutually

benefit the seafood industry and the Chesapeake Bay.

News from the Point

International …

Can We Predict Joint Effects Of Hypoxia And Metals On Fish Survival?, Michael C. Newman

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Fish are suddenly exposed to hypoxic conditions during diverse events such as seiche- or turnover-related water movements, bottom water release from reservoirs, ice-over of eutrophic arctic lakes, and rapid shifts in respiration: photosynthesis associated with cultural eutrophication. In each case, chemical equilibria established under hypoxic conditions that result in metal dissolution and accumulation suddenly shift toward chemical equilibria of oxic conditions. Critical changes in speciation include those determining the free ion activity that, as expressed by the Free Ion Activity Model (FIAM), is often the most bioactive form of a dissolved metal. Metal phase can also change rapidly and, in …

Constraints On Sustainable Marine Fisheries In The United States: A Look At The Record, John A. Musick, Julia K. Ellis

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The factors that may either constrain or contribute to sustainable marine fisheries were examined by reviewing and analyzing the history and current status of several U.S. fisheries. Among major factors under consideration are inherent vulnerability (vulnerability in some species is high because of low intrinsic rates of increase and/or naturally infrequent recruitment); environmental degradation (fisheries may collapse because of anthropogenic habitat destruction); availability of data (information necessary co conduce accurate stock assessments may be inadequate for some species); quality of the scientific advice (inappropriate models or scientifically inaccurate assessments may be used); and effectiveness of management decisions (managers may disregard …