Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Upgrading Marine Ecosystem Restoration Using Ecological-Social Concepts, A Abelson, Bs Halpern, Dc Reed, R J. Orth, Ga Kendrick, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Conservation and environmental management are principal countermeasures to the degradation of marine ecosystems and their services. However, in many cases, current practices are insufficient to reverse ecosystem declines. We suggest that restoration ecology, the science underlying the concepts and tools needed to restore ecosystems, must be recognized as an integral element for marine conservation and environmental management. Marine restoration ecology is a young scientific discipline, often with gaps between its application and the supporting science. Bridging these gaps is essential to using restoration as an effective management tool and reversing the decline of marine ecosystems and their services. Ecological restoration …

Parallelism And Epistasis In Skeletal Evolution Identified Through Use Of Phylogenomic Mapping Strategies, Jm Daane, N Rohner, P Konstantinidis, S Djuranovic, Mp Harris

VIMS Articles

The identification of genetic mechanisms underlying evolutionary change is critical to our understanding of natural diversity, but is presently limited by the lack of genetic and genomic resources for most species. Here, we present a new comparative genomic approach that can be applied to a broad taxonomic sampling of nonmodel species to investigate the genetic basis of evolutionary change. Using our analysis pipeline, we show that duplication and divergence of fgfr1a is correlated with the reduction of scales within fishes of the genus Phoxinellus. As a parallel genetic mechanism is observed in scale-reduction within independent lineages of cypriniforms, our finding …

Unstructured-Grid Model For The North Sea And Baltic Sea: Validation Against Observations, Yinglong J. Zhang, Ev Stanev, S Grashorn

VIMS Articles

A new unstructured grid model and its application to the North Sea and Baltic Sea are described. The research focus is on the dynamics in the two basins and in the multiple straits connecting them and more specifically on how the model replicates the temporal and spatial variability of physical processes. The comparison against observed data indicates the realism in the simulations of the exchange flows. The simulations demonstrated that in contrast to the tidal variability which decreases in the strait, the role of the barotropic forcing due to weather systems increases. In this zone reversal of transport is well …

Age, Growth And Natural Mortality Of Blackfin Snapper Lutjanus Buccanella From The Southeastern United States And U. S. Caribbean, Michael L. Burton, Jennifer C. Potts, Daniel R. Carr

Gulf and Caribbean Research

We determined ages of Blackfin Snapper (Lutjanus buccanella Cuvier 1828; n = 622) collected from the southeastern United States coast and U.S. Caribbean from 1979–2015 using sectioned sagittal otoliths. Opaque zones were determined to be annular, forming March – July (peaking in April–June). Blackfin Snapper ranged from 1–27 years and from 180–609 mm total length (TL). Body size relationships for Blackfin Snapper were: TL = 1.09 FL + 0.81 (n = 203, r2 = 0.99); FL = 0.91 TL + 3.38 (n = 203, r2 = 0.99); TL = 1.23 SL + 14.27 (n = 83, r2 = 0.97); FL …

Vims Shark Longline Annual Report - 2016, Multispecies Research Group, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Report indicates the number of species caught, retained, released and tagged in the longline surveys.

The Status Of Virginia's Public Oyster Resource 2015, Melissa Southworth, Roger L. Mann

Reports

This report summarizes data collected during 2015 in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The report is composed of two parts, part one, oyster recruitment (shell string) in Virginia and part two, dredge survey of selected oyster bars in Virginia.

Effects Of Hydrology On The Growth And Recruitment Of Stream Fish In The Eastern Broadleaf Province Of Minnesota, Eric J. Krumm

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Agricultural practices and urban development have altered streamflows within the Eastern Broadleaf Province of Minnesota. Stream-flow alteration can produce significant changes in native freshwater communities. Therefore, knowledge of streamflow effects on representative freshwater populations and communities within the province are needed to maintain ecological integrity. Fish community and population dynamics often display predictable responses to flow regimes, which can make fishes model organisms for examining flow-ecology relationships.

In lotic systems, annual variation in streamflow can influence the annual growth and recruitment of fishes. Understanding the growth and recruitment of fish populations is essential for management and conservation efforts. Growth can …

Report On Red Crab Fishery: Harvesting Enhancements And By-Catch Utilization, Robert A. Fisher

Reports

No abstract provided.

Reducing Theft Of Oysters Through The Use Of Rfid Technology, Tommy Kelllum, Albert Pollard Sr.

Reports

Poaching (theft) of oyster from the oyster beds is a huge problem. Purpose of this study is to assess a means of reducing poaching. The means to be studied is the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to mark oysters that would be placed on the beds so that when oysters from those beds are brought to the seafood processor, their origin can be identified. A detailed discussion of RFID appears in a later section of this study.

RFID tags are to be put in dummy oysters, which should be hard to detect from real oysters. The shells must …

Practical Oyster Larvae And Remote Deployment Pool, Albert Pollard

Reports

This grant will evaluate the costs of constructing and operating a 100 bushel “floating pool” in which aged, washed, and containerized shell is placed with purchased larvae for setting on the cultch. The 100 bushel sized pool is being proposed because it is a sample size large enough to test future scalability but small enough to manage as a controlled experiment. In addition, the proposal will compare the setting efficiency of the pool vs the standard upland tanks. Also, we intend to test practicality - after lifting the skirt that forms the pool – of towing the POLARDS Pool (now …

Conclusion: Protecting Juvenile Flounder From Becoming A Crab Pot By Catch - Final Report, Mike Joslin

Reports

This study was conducted to determine whether the escape panel was effective in reducing the by-catch of juvenile flounder when using the conventional crab pots.

An escape panel for the juvenile flounder was constructed and inserted into 10 pots marked as "treated". In addition, 10 conventional crab pots, were constructed without panels marked "untreated". Both sets were placed in the same line alternating "treated", "untreated", etc...

On three rotations the pots were fished and data was collected to determine if the panels were effective as an escape for the juvenile flounder.Each rotation was in a different location.

This study was …

Estimation Of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay : Annual Progress Report : 2015-2016, Christopher D. Davis, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The 2015 Striped Bass juvenile abundance index was 12.00 and was not significantly greater than the historic average of 8.63. Compared with their respective historic averages abundance indices from individual rivers in 2015 varied, such that significantly higher recruitment was observed in the Rappahannock River and average recruitment was observed in the James and York rivers. Relatively higher catches of young‐of‐the‐year Striped Bass at upriver and downriver auxiliary sites suggest expansion of Striped Bass nursery grounds in 2015. Unlike Striped Bass in Virginia waters, juvenile White Perch abundance indices in 2015 were significantly greater than the historic average for this …

Zooplanktonic Community Dynamics Of The Minnesota River With An Ichthyoplankton Gear Comparison, Nathaniel Lederman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Minnesota River, like many large rivers, has been functionally altered by human activities and climate change. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has designated 271 kilometers (50.3%) of the 539 kilometer Minnesota River as “biologically impaired.” However, assessing biological communities in large rivers is often difficult and limited to examination of upper trophic levels (e.g., piscivorous fishes). Few studies examined zooplanktonic communities, largely due to difficulties associated with sampling. Because of the need to improve assessment strategies for biological impairments in the Minnesota River, the zooplanktonic community, including crustaceous zooplankton, rotifers, macroinvertebrates, and ichthyoplankton was evaluated within an impaired and …

Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Potomac River (Spring 2016), 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 2012, Chesapeake Bay commercial landings of American Eel (771,536 lbs) were 72% of the U.S. landings (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). Since the 1980s, harvest along the U.S. Atlantic Coast …

A Highly Sensitive Underwater Video System For Use In Turbid Aquaculture Ponds, Chin-Chang Hung, Shih-Chieh Tsao, Kuo-Hao Huang, Jia-Pu Jang, Hsu-Kuang Chang, Fred C. Dobbs

OES Faculty Publications

The turbid, low-light waters characteristic of aquaculture ponds have made it difficult or impossible for previous video cameras to provide clear imagery of the ponds' benthic habitat. We developed a highly sensitive, underwater video system (UVS) for this particular application and tested it in shrimp ponds having turbidities typical of those in southern Taiwan. The system's high-quality video stream and images, together with its camera capacity (up to nine cameras), permit in situ observations of shrimp feeding behavior, shrimp size and internal anatomy, and organic matter residues on pond sediments. The UVS can operate continuously and be focused remotely, a …

Black Soldier Fly Larvae Manual, Haeree H. Park

Student Showcase

This manual is a resource for fisheries, hatcheries, and farms of all types that wish to exercise a sustainable management system utilizing black soldier fly larvae through the minimization of waste. Although black soldier fly larvae can be fed to small livestock such as chickens and rodents, this project and manual are tailored specifically to freshwater fish in hopes of closing the significant gap and inefficiencies of fish management and subsequent waste throughout the New England coastal area. There is an evident opportunity to harness black soldier fly larvae’s extraordinary bioconversion of organic matter that can lead to not only …

Department Of Fisheries Annual Report To Parliament 2015/16, Government Of Western Australia Department Of Fisheries

Department of Fisheries annual reports

This annual report provides an overview of the Department and its operations for the financial year ended 30 June 2016. It has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Management Act 2006, the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 and the Public Sector Commission’s Annual reporting framework – 2015/16 reporting year.

An Investigation Of Juvenile Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) Habitat Use And Growth Using Natural Markers, Gregory Norman Labonte Ms

All Student Scholarship

This research attempts to connect patterns in growth and migration of an anadromous species. The goal of this research was to understand habitat movements and growth of juvenile alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the Penobscot Estuary and Bay through the use of otolith microchemistry, otolith growth increments, and a laboratory stable isotope turnover study. Understanding the connection between growth and movement of juvenile alewives may lead to more accurate and sophisticated conservation and restoration methods for anadromous species.

Demographics And Parasites Of Spotted Bass In The Wabash River, Evan C. Boone

Masters Theses

Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus Rafinesque are a popular sport fish primarily found in the streams and reservoirs of the south. The Wabash River, a large tributary of the Ohio River, contains a naturally reproducing population on the northern boundary of their range. Currently, the lower Wabash River is monitored using two different sampling designs, the Long Term Electrofishing Program monitors community assemblages using stratified random sampling whereas the Illinois Department of Natural Resources uses a fixed sampling design. Due to the wide distribution but low abundance of Spotted Bass throughout this drainage, captures from each design were compared to assess …

Effects Of Habitat Alteration On Ecomorphology Of Fish Communities In A Restored Stream, Carl Anthony Favata

Masters Theses

Decades of anthropogenic pressure have devastated lotic ecosystems across the riverscapes of North America, resulting in degradation of critical habitat and contributing to sharp declines in biotic integrity. In response, local stream restoration projects have increased in frequency. However, little effort has been allocated to monitoring and project success has been limited. In addition, restoration projects typically focus on ecological effects above the population-level, while relationships with physiological processes are seldom assessed. Lessons from the long-term restoration and ecological monitoring of Kickapoo Creek highlight some of the complex dynamics driving reach-scale restoration projects. Following instream restoration, I predicted that alterations …