Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Expanding Virginia"S Oyster Industry While Minimizing User Conflict - Interim Report (Year 2 Of 3), Roger L. Mann, Marcia Berman, James Wesson, Melissa Southworth, Tamia Rudnicky

Reports

This study seeks to assess the sustainability of the public oyster fishery and the expansion of hatchery dependent oyster aquaculture in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Previous analyses have suggested that limitations in available shell resources will ultimately drive the future of the public fishery. The expansion of intensive aquaculture, already apparent in the Bay, suggests sustainability will be contingent upon the availability of bottom space and/or a shift in practices that minimize user conflict in leased areas.

Landings, Vol. 27, No. 12, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

Hunters And Their Perceptions Of Public Access: A View From Afield, Joseph J. Fontaine, Alexis D. Fedele, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Lindsey N. Messinger, Christopher J. Chizinski, Jeffery J. Lusk, Karie L. Decker, J. Scott Taylor, Erica F. Stuber

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Declining hunter participation threatens cultural traditions and public support for conservation, warranting examination of the forces behind the downward trajectory. Access to lands for hunting, an often-cited reason for non participation, may play a critical role in the retention and recruitment of hunters. Meeting the access needs of a diverse hunting constituency requires understanding how hunters use and perceive access opportunities, particularly public-access sites. Given that perceptions of access are entirely place based and degrade with time, traditional postseason survey methods may fail to adequately quantify the value of public access to the hunting constituency. To overcome the potential limitations …

Statewide Survey Of Boat-Based Recreational Fishing In Western Australia 2017/18, K. L. Ryan, N.G. Hall, E.K. Lai, Claire B. Smallwood, Alissa Tate, S.M Taylor, Brent S. Wise

Fisheries research reports

The statewide survey of boat-based recreational fishing includes three components: (i) off-site Phone Surveys (encompassing an initial Screening Survey, a longitudinal Phone-Diary Survey, and Post-Enumeration Surveys); (ii) on-site Boat Ramp Surveys; and (iii) Remote Camera Surveys. The main data collection period was the 12-months from September 2017 to August 2018 inclusive, with the Post-Enumeration Surveys occurring from September to December 2018.

Selectivity Of Two Commercial Dredges Fished In The Northwest Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery, Sally Roman, David Rudders

VIMS Articles

Size selectivity curves were estimated for two commercial dredge configurations used in the United States Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fishery. Traditionally, the New Bedford Style dredge (New Bedford dredge) has been used by the commercial fleet; however, since 2013, the Coonamessett Farm Turtle Deflector Dredge (turtle dredge) has been required seasonally in the Mid-Atlantic region to minimize the capture of sea turtles. This analysis provides estimates of selectivity and relative efficiency for the turtle dredge and the New Bedford dredge. Selectivity information for the turtle dredge is currently unknown, and selectivity for the New Bedford dredge was originally assessed …

A Conservation Palaeobiological Perspective On Chesapeake Bay Oysters, Rowan Lockwood, Roger L. Mann

VIMS Articles

The eastern oyster plays a vital role in estuarine habitats, acting as an ecosystem engineer and improving water quality. Populations of Chesapeake Bay oysters have declined precipitously in recent decades. The fossil record, which preserves 500 000 years of once-thriving reefs, provides a unique opportunity to study pristine reefs to establish a possible baseline for mitigation. For this study, over 900 fossil oysters were examined from three Pleistocene localities in the Chesapeake region. Data on oyster shell lengths, lifespans and population density were assessed. Comparisons to modern Crassostrea virginica, sampled from monitoring surveys of similar environments, reveal that fossil oysters …

Comparison Of Unused Water And Year-Old Used Water For Production Of Channel Catfish In The Biofloc Technology System, Bartholomew W. Green, Kevin K. Schrader, Steven D. Rawles, Carl D. Webster, Matthew E. Mcentire

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Since excreted feed nitrogen is bio-transformed efficiently in a fully functional mixotrophic biofloc technology production system, re-using this biofloc water over multiple production cycles should be beneficial. The present study, conducted in an outdoor biofloc technology production system, evaluated impacts on fish production characteristics and mineral status, common microbial off-flavors, and water quality dynamics for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) reared in one-year-old waters with low or high total suspended solids used previously for two consecutive catfish biofloc studies or in unused (new) water. Total suspended solids were maintained at 300 to 400 mg/L in the unused and low …

Minimal Effects Of Oyster Aquaculture On Local Water Quality: Examples From Southern Chesapeake Bay, Jessica Turner, M. Lisa Kellogg, Grace M. Massey, Carl Friedrichs

VIMS Articles

As the oyster aquaculture industry grows and becomes incorporated into management practices, it is important to understand its effects on local environments. This study investigated how water quality and hydrodynamics varied among farms as well as inside versus outside the extent of caged grow-out areas located in southern Chesapeake Bay. Current speed and water quality variables (chlorophyll-a fluorescence, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen) were measured along multiple transects within and adjacent to four oyster farms during two seasons. At the scale of individual aquaculture sites, we were able to detect statistically significant differences in current speed and water quality variables between …

High Salinity Tolerance Of Invasive Blue Catfish Suggests Potential For Further Range Expansion In The Chesapeake Bay Region, Vaskar Nepal, Mary C. Fabrizio

VIMS Articles

In estuaries, salinity is believed to limit the colonization of brackish water habitats by freshwater species. Blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, recognized as a freshwater species, is an invasive species in tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. Salinity tolerance of this species, though likely to determine its potential range expansion and dispersal in estuarine habitats, is not well-known. To address this issue, we subjected blue catfish to a short-term salinity tolerance experiment and found that this species tolerates salinities higher than most freshwater fishes and that larger blue catfish tolerate elevated salinities for longer periods compared with smaller individuals. Our …

Overhauling Ocean Spatial Planning To Improve Marine Megafauna Conservation, Ana Micaela Martins Sequeira, Graeme Clive Hays, David Sims, Víctor Eguíluz, Jorge Rodríguez, Michelle Heupel, Rob Harcourt, Hannah Calich, Nuno Queiroz, Daniel Paul Costa, Juan Fernández-Gracia, Luciana Ferreira, Simon David Goldsworthy, Mark Andrew Hindell, Mary-Anne Lea, Mark Meekan, Anthony Michael Pagano, Scott Shaffer, Julia Reisser, Michele Thums, Michael Weise, Carlos Duarte

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many 1000s of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of these species to move 1000s of kilometers across multiple national jurisdictions. To assist the goal of the United Nations General Assembly’s recent effort to negotiate a global treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, we propose the development of a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management. …

Landings, Vol. 27, No. 11, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

Integrated Survey Of Boat-Based Recreational Fishing In Inner Shark Bay 2018/19, S.M Taylor, Claire B. Smallwood, Cameron J. Desfosses, K. L. Ryan, Gary Jackson

Fisheries research reports

Inner Shark Bay is a popular recreational fishing destination. As recreational fishing occurs in a World Heritage Area and Marine Park, there is a need for ongoing reliable information on catches. Many boat-based recreational fishers in inner Shark Bay target Pink Snapper (Chrysophrys auratus).

Invertebrate And Reef Health Research And Monitoring At Cocos (Keeling) Islands – 2019 Update, N Konzewitsch, S. N. Evans

Fisheries research reports

The five long term reef monitoring sites implemented by DPIRD in 2010, and surveyed annually until 2014, were resurveyed in April 2016 and February 2017. In 2016, a sixth monitoring site (site 6) was established in the marine protected area of the Pulu Keeling National Park (PKNP).

Characterization Of Microsporidian Ameson Herrnkindi Sp. Nov. Infecting Caribbean Spiny Lobsters Panulirus Argus, Hamish J. Small, Gd Stentiford, Dc Behringer, Ma Freeman, Nam Atherley, Kimberly S. Reece, Jeffrey D. Shields

VIMS Articles

The Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus supports a large and valuable fishery in the Caribbean Sea. In 2007-2008, a rare microsporidian parasite with spore characteristics typical of the Ameson genus was detected in 2 spiny lobsters from southeast Florida (FL). However, the parasite species was not confirmed by molecular analyses. To address this deficiency, reported here are structural and molecular data on single lobsters displaying comparable ‘cotton-like’ abdominal muscle containing ovoid microsporidian spores found at different locations in FL in 2014 and 2018 and in Saint Kitts and Nevis Islands in 2017. In the lobster from 2014, multiple life stages …

Comparisons Of Mean Length-Based Mortality Estimators And Age-Structured Models For Six Southeastern Us Stocks, Quang C. Huynh, Nancie J. Cummings, John M. Hoenig

VIMS Articles

Length-based mortality estimators have been developed as alternative assessment methods for data-limited stocks. We compared mortality estimates from three methodologically related mean length-based methods to those from an age-structured model (ASM). We estimated fishing mortality and determined overfishing status, i.e. if F/F_MSY > 1, for six stocks which support important recreational and commercial fisheries in the southeastern United States. The similarities in historical fishing mortality between the length-based methods and the most recent assessments varied among the case studies, but the classification of overfishing status in the terminal year did not differ based on the choice of model …

Incorporating Early Life History And Recruitment In Analysis Of Population Dynamics Of Wetland Fishes, John Vincent Gatto

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydrological variation is believed to be the major abiotic factor influencing fish recruitment in floodplain ecosystems. However, past studies fail to address the impact of hydrology on the three major drivers of recruitment: age-specific growth and mortality, and dispersal. I examined long-term recruitment dynamics for six fish species inhabiting the Everglades by addressing the impact of hydrology on these important characteristics. I then linked these changes to annual fluctuations in population size.

Before interpreting time-series data on recruitment, I evaluated the impact of size-selective bias from sampling gear on our interpretation of hydrological drivers of recruitment. Analyses revealed that individuals …

Ecosystem Services Of Restored Oyster Reefs In A Chesapeake Bay Tributary: Abundance And Foraging Of Estuarine Fishes, Bruce Pfirrmann, Rochelle D. Seitz

VIMS Articles

Restoration of oyster reefs in coastal ecosystems may enhance fish and fisheries by providing valuable refuge and foraging habitat, but understanding the effects of restoration requires an improved understanding of fish habitat use and trophic dynamics, coupled with long-term (>5 yr) monitoring of restored habitats. We evaluated the relationship between large (3-5 ha) restored subtidal oyster reefs and mobile estuarine fishes in the Lynnhaven River System (LRS), Virginia, more than 8 yr following reef construction. We compared the (1) diversity, (2) abundance, (3) size, (4) stomach fullness, (5) diet composition, and (6) daily consumption rate of fishes collected from …

A Global Spatial Analysis Reveals Where Marine Aquaculture Can Benefit Nature And People, Seth J. Theuerkauf, James A. Morris Jr, Tiffany J. Waters, Lisa C. Wickliffe, Heidi K. Alleway

Aquaculture and Fisheries Collection

Aquaculture of bivalve shellfish and seaweed represents a global opportunity to simultaneously advance coastal ecosystem recovery and provide substantive benefits to humanity. To identify marine ecoregions with the greatest potential for development of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture to meet this opportunity, we conducted a global spatial analysis using key environmental (e.g., nutrient pollution status), socioeconomic (e.g., governance quality), and human health factors (e.g., wastewater treatment prevalence). We identify a substantial opportunity for strategic sector development, with the highest opportunity marine ecoregions for shellfish aquaculture centered on Oceania, North America, and portions of Asia, and the highest opportunity for seaweed aquaculture …

Amendments To The 1995 Offshore Constitutional Settlement, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries management papers

No abstract provided.

Hypoxia In Mangroves: Occurrence And Impact On Valuable Tropical Fish Habitat, Alexia Dubuc, Ronald Baker, Cyril Marchand, Nathan Waltham, Marcus Sheaves

School of Marine and Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Intertidal mangrove forests are harsh environments that can naturally experience hypoxia in association with low tide. However, we know relatively little about dissolved oxygen (DO) fluctuations and DO-induced responses by fish, although DO is a fundamental water quality parameter. This study examines DO as a potential factor regulating the utilization of intertidal mangrove forests by fish and consequently their widely recognized feeding, refuge and nursery values. We deployed underwater video cameras, coupled with DO and depth loggers, in a mangrove forest to record changes in fish assemblages in response to tidal variations in DO and other associated environmental parameters. Our …

Landings, Vol. 27, No. 10, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

The Influence Of Location, Positioning, And Seasonality On Feeding Behavior Of The Sydney Oyster (Saccostrea Glomerata) In New South Wales, Australia, Nathaniel Hess

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Oysters are hard shelled bivalves that aggregate over time to create structures in estuarine systems, known as oyster reefs. These reefs are important for the promotion of estuarine biodiversity by supporting many species of fish, invertebrates, and plants. They also act as a key contributor to water health by using active suspension feeding mechanisms and selective feeding to remove nutrients and water borne pollutants from estuarine systems. They have been touted as possible bio-remediators. They also effect rates of sedimentation in estuaries.

Oyster reefs have historically been threatened by anthropogenic influences such as overharvesting, destructive fishing practices, water pollution, CO2 …

Recovering A Collapsed Abalone Stock Through Translocation. Seafood Crc Project No. 2011/762, Lachlan W.S. Strain, Jamin M. Brown, Anthony M. Hart

Fisheries research reports

A Roe’s Abalone (Haliotis roei) fishery in Western Australia (Area 8) suffered catastrophic mortality (99.9%) due to an anomalous environmental event in the summer of 2011. During this extreme marine heatwave there was a sustained period of elevated sea surface temperatures that rose to lethal levels for this species and effectively wiped out an entire stock at its northern distribution. Natural recovery within the foreseeable future was considered unlikely, thus providing a unique opportunity to test fishery restoration strategies for abalone. Over the course of this assisted recovery program (5.5 years) no natural recovery was observed in the region most …

Temporal, Spatial, And Biological Variation Of Nematode Epidemiology In American Eels, Zt Warshafsky, Troy D. Tuckey, Wk Vogelbein, Rj Latour, Ar Wargo

VIMS Articles

This is the accepted manuscript version of the article.

American eels (Anguilla rostrata) are infected by the non-native parasitic nematode Anguillicoloides crassus, which can cause severe swim bladder damage. We investigated epidemiology of A. crassus to better understand its population-level effects on American eels. Nematode prevalence, abundance, and intensity and swim bladder damage were quantified in glass eels, elvers, and yellow eels from the lower Chesapeake Bay and related to season of capture, river system, and total length. Age-variant force-of-infection and disease-associated mortality were estimated using a three-state irreversible disease model, which assumes recovery is not possible. Results showed glass …

A Data Repository For Minimal Effects Of Oyster Aquaculture On Water Quality: Examples From Southern Chesapeake Bay, Jessica Turner, Grace M. Massey, M. Lisa Kellogg, Carl Friedrichs

Data

The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of oyster aquaculture on water quality, sediment quality, and hydrodynamics at select sites in southern Chesapeake Bay. To this end, information was gathered over the course of approximately one year from February 2017 to October 2017 at four operating commercial farms. Farms were sampled during spring, summer, and fall seasons during times of oyster filtration activity when temperatures were greater than 10^oC. Aquaculture sites differed in environmental setting, in terms of their exposure to waves and resulting sediment characteristics. Sites had mesohaline salinities (ranging from 15-22 psu) and …

Development Of A Dna Mini-Barcoding Protocol Targeting Coi For The Identification Of Elasmobranch Species In Shark Cartilage Pills, Rowena J. Zahn, Anthony J. Silva, Rosalee S. Hellberg

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

Many elasmobranch (shark and ray) species are considered threatened and their identification in processed products is important for conservation and authentication purposes. However, identification of elasmobranch species in shark cartilage pills has proven difficult using existing methodologies. The objective of this study was to develop a DNA mini-barcoding protocol using a ~130 bp region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for species identification in shark cartilage pills. A total of 22 shark cartilage products underwent DNA extraction in duplicate using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen). The effectiveness of a clean-up step following DNA extraction was …

Mortality, Perception, And Scale: Understanding How Predation Shapes Space Use In A Wild Prey Population, Lindsey N. Messinger, Erica F. Stuber, Christopher J. Chizinski, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Attempts to assess behavioral responses of prey to predation risk are often confounded by depredation of prey. Moreover, the scale at which the response of prey is assessed has important implications for discovering how predation risk alters prey behavior. Herein, we assessed space use of wild Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in response to spatial and temporal variation in recreational hunting. We radio-marked pheasants and monitored space use at two spatial scales: short-term seasonal home range, and nightly resting locations. Additionally, we considered temporal variation in predation risk by monitoring space use prior to and during the pheasant hunting season. Although …

Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Estimates From Vims Industry-Based Scallop Dredge Surveys Of Closed Area Ii And Surrounds, Sally Roman, David Rudders

Reports

This document is the final report submitted to the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) for the Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Estimates from VIMS Industry-Based Scallop Dredge Surveys of Closed Area II and Surrounds project. The NEFMC funded this project in April 2019, with an objective of synthesizing existing VIMS dredge survey data with respect to the Georges Bank stock of yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea). Analysis consisted of an examination of existing catch data from VIMS dredge surveys of Georges Bank Closed Area II and surrounds from 2005 to 2019.

Results For The 2019 Vims Industry Cooperative Surveys Of The Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship Closed Area, Closed Area I, And Closed Area Ii Resource Areas, David Rudders, Sally Roman, Erin Mohr, Kaitlyn Clark

Reports

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) conducted high resolution sea scallop dredge surveys of the entire Mid-Atlantic (MAB), the Nantucket Lightship (NLCA), Closed Area I (CAI), and Closed Area II (CAII) during May–July 2019. These surveys were funded by the Sea Scallop Research Set- Aside Program (RSA). Exploitable biomass for each survey is shown in Table 1 for each spatially explicit SAMS Area (Scallop Area Management Simulator). SAMS Areas represent management relevant spatial subunits of the resource and explicitly account for differences in recruitment, vital rates, and fishing effort in the forward projection of survey information. Maps of SAMS …

Marine Plastic Pollution Afs 488g, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.