Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Spatial Variation In Fishery Exploitation Of Mature Female Blue Crabs (C. Sapidus) In Chesapeake Bay, Corey Travis Corrick

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From 2008 to 2012, the total U.S. commercial landings of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) averaged over 173 million lbs. Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are important contributors to this fishery, providing greater than 30% of national commercial landings annually. In Chesapeake Bay, C. sapidus exhibits a complex life cycle in which mated females migrate to the saline waters of the Bay mouth to spawn. During migration, females can traverse multiple management jurisdictions, complicating effective management of this important fishery. Sustained declines in harvest have led to management strategies focused on protecting the female spawning stock in an …

Survey Gear Comparisons And Shark Nursery Habitat Use In Southeast Georgia Estuaries, Jeffrey Cohen Carpenter

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gill nets and longlines were compared as shark nursery sampling methodologies in inshore waters of Georgia to (1) assess differences in gear selectivity, bias, and stress of capture and (2) determine potential relationships between habitat features and shark distribution and abundance. Gear selectivity varied between gears as a function of both species and life stage resulting in significantly different estimates of species and life stage compositions. Juvenile bonnetheads (Sphyrna tiburo) and young of the year blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) experienced significantly higher stress from gill net capture than longline. Major sources of bias are thought to …

The Reproductive Biology Of The Finetooth Shark, Carcharhinus Isodon, In The Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Amanda N. Brown

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Shark fisheries are a multimillion dollar industry in the United States and have significant contributions both recreationally and commercially. In order to maintain this industry, fisheries must be properly managed. An understanding of life history and reproduction is crucial in order to adequately manage shark fisheries. The finetooth shark, Carcharhinus isodon, is a member of the small coastal shark (SCS) fishery complex. It is found in Atlantic waters from South Carolina to Florida and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. This species has recently come under increased fishing pressure and has previously been overfished. New data is needed in order …

Non-Lethal Methods For Assessing Reproductive Status In Bonnethead Sharks (Sphyrna Tiburo), Brenda Carol Anderson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reproductive biology is a necessary element for the management of elasmobranch fisheries. Traditionally, characterization of elasmobranch reproduction has involved lethal sampling to examine gross reproductive structures and development of embryos. However, this method is counterproductive to the conservation of shark populations. One non-lethal alternative is the measurement of serum hormones, which often vary according to reproductive events. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been used to measure hormone concentrations in reproductive endocrinology, but can be problematic for researchers. Alternatively, chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA) are routinely used for measuring circulating hormone concentrations in low-volume, non-extracted human serum samples. However these assays have not been previously …

Nutrient Transport By Shrimp Hepatopancreas, Tamla A. Simmons

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purified brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) were isolated to characterize primary cellular transport mechanisms for white shrimp. The ultimate goal is to determine the effective components of a shrimp’s diet, thereby enhancing growth, as well as nutrient content. Juvenile shrimp are dependent on plant material as a food source. Potassium is a key component of plants, thus it may play a role in nutrient transport. In addition, divalent metals have been shown to act as co-transporters in several other organisms, thus they may serve as a transport mechanism for shrimp.

Fresh, live, white or brown shrimp were obtained, and from …