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Full-Text Articles in Aquaculture and Fisheries
Reducing Yellowtail Flounder Bycatch In The Sea Scallop Dredge Fishery: Twine Top Modifications, Kelli Milleville Wright, David Rudders, William D. Dupaul
Reducing Yellowtail Flounder Bycatch In The Sea Scallop Dredge Fishery: Twine Top Modifications, Kelli Milleville Wright, David Rudders, William D. Dupaul
Reports
No abstract provided.
Harmful Algal Bloom (Hab) Primer For The Virginia Shellfish Industry, Kimberly S. Reece, Karen Hudson
Harmful Algal Bloom (Hab) Primer For The Virginia Shellfish Industry, Kimberly S. Reece, Karen Hudson
Reports
No abstract provided.
Monitoring Relative Abundance Of American Shad In Virginia Rivers 2011 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee
Monitoring Relative Abundance Of American Shad In Virginia Rivers 2011 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee
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 …
Product Development For Cownose Ray Final Report, Robert A. Fisher
Product Development For Cownose Ray Final Report, Robert A. Fisher
Reports
No abstract provided.
Seasonal Distributions And Movements Of Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus Osseus) Within The York River System, Virginia, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Eric J. Hilton, John A. Musick
Seasonal Distributions And Movements Of Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus Osseus) Within The York River System, Virginia, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Eric J. Hilton, John A. Musick
VIMS Articles
The seasonal movements of Lepisosteus osseus (Longnose Gar) are largely unknown. The goal of this project was to characterize spawning movements and seasonal distributions by using acoustic tagging methods and examining historical catch records from a trawl survey. This is the first time that movements have been studied for an estuarine population of Longnose Gar. Two individuals moved greater minimum distances (69 and 74 km) than found in the only other report on movement in this species. Spawning-ground residency time, collected from two tagged Longnose Gar, was approximately one month, and tidal periodicity was observed for one of the two …
Diamondback Terrapin Bycatch Reduction Strategies For Commercial And Recreational Blue Crab Fisheries, Donna M. Bilkovic, Randy Chambers, Matthias Leu, Kirk J. Havens, Timothy Russell
Diamondback Terrapin Bycatch Reduction Strategies For Commercial And Recreational Blue Crab Fisheries, Donna M. Bilkovic, Randy Chambers, Matthias Leu, Kirk J. Havens, Timothy Russell
Reports
Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is considered a keystone species for its influence on community structure of tidal marshes. Terrapins exhibit strong habitat and nest site fidelity, and have relatively small home ranges (< 2 km), so that sub-populations tend to be spatially discrete. Terrapins rely on open water, wetlands, and adjacent uplands at various stages of their life-cycle, so the quality and connectivity of these habitat patches is critical to population persistence. Terrapin is listed in Virginia as a species of "Very High Conservation Need" based on threats due to nest predation and drowning of adults in crab pots. Terrapin population declines, reduced growth, and changes in sex ratios have been directly attributed to bycatch mortality in commercial crab pots. Our overall project goal was to characterize essential terrapin habitats toward development of bycatch reduction strategies for managing commercial and recreational blue crab fisheries. In a pilot study area surrounding the mouth of the York River, Virginia, our approach was to 1) geospatially define suitable terrapin habitat based on natural features, 2) integrate spatial datasets to develop a "Vulnerability Index" of terrapin habitats and define potential resource conflict areas where crab pots correspond to essential terrapin habitat, and 3) conduct terrapin and crab pot counts in habitats with varying suitability to test predictions. Suitable terrapin habitat (full connectivity among habitat metrics) accounted for over 50% of all terrapin observations, and another 45% of observations occurred in areas where only one habitat metric was absent. In 96% of these cases, the absent metric was SAV presence. In contrast, full habitat connectivity was determined for only 5% of areas where terrapins were absent. Within the pilot study area during a two year retrieval program, 2872 derelict pots were removed. Of these, 22% were within shallow waters (≤ 2 m) where terrapins typically reside. Of the suitable terrapin habitat (70km2 ), 21% (15 km2 ) was considered vulnerable to crabbing pressures (10% highly and 11% moderately vulnerable). Approximately 15% of the study area was considered to be potential resource conflict areas for terrapin and crabbing. Candidate zones for the targeted application of blue crab fishery management actions to reduce terrapin bycatch include the Severn River, Perrin River, Guinea Marshes, and south of Gwynn Island. The integration of spatial information on terrapin habitat and crabbing pressure in a single framework will allow managers to identify areas where terrapins are most likely to encounter threats and target conservation efforts in those areas. In resource conflict areas, there are several management options that can be used in combination 1) Require use of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) on commercial & recreational crab pots 2) Avoid particular habitats (e.g. small tidal creeks) or establish fishing exclusion zones 3) Educate – design public education programs to • promote the voluntary use of BRDs, and • communicate to recreational boaters the ramifications of severing buoy lines of active crab pots 4) Promote proper use of gear (e.g. retrieving pots regularly to minimize terrapin mortality). With further refinement to improve the predictability of terrapin occupancy, the terrapin habitat vulnerability model is transferable to all coastal areas where diamondback terrapins occur and where blue crabs are commercially and recreationally fished—from southern New England to Texas.
Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program 2011, Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program
Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program 2011, Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program
Reports
No abstract provided.