Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2021, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2021, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 26-year database of rec-ords for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of William & Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

The main goal of the program is to train and maintain an experienced group of anglers who volunteer their time to properly tag and release fishes. Data on tagged and recaptured fish are summarized in annual reports.

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2021 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-fourth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2021, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020).

We also report on two fishery independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 4) and the Chickahominy River (year 7; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2022 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2022, evaluating hatchery programs and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007a; ASMFC 2020). We also report on a fishery-independent monitoring program to determine abundance and stock structure of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in Virginia by evaluating the adult spawning runs in the Chickahominy River, a major tributary of the James River, and the Rappahannock River. Further, a …

Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Potomac River (Spring 2022), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. Landings from Chesapeake Bay typically represent 60% of the annual United States commercial harvest (ASMFC 2012). American Eel is also important to the recreational fishery as it is often used live as bait for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). In 2021, Chesapeake Bay commercial landings of American Eel (284,297 lbs) were 87% of the U.S. landings of yellow eel (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). …