Animal Sciences Commons^™

Comparative Study Of Seed From Northern And Southern Hatcheries, Joshua Merritt, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Seed from Northern and Southern (hereafter called local) hatcheries was procured in May 2000. Oysters delivered by the Northern hatchery were on time and of the desired size ~3mm). Seed from the local hatchery, however, arrived several days later and were too small to go into field nursery containers and were subsequently held in upwellers and then transferred to the field nursery gear. Figure 1 shows growth as measured by mean shell height (mm) for both strains. Note that the local seed took N20 days longer to reach grow-out size (indicated by first sieve).

Hard Clam Grow-Out Using Fenced-In System Vs. Traditional Nets, Linda Crewe

Reports

The purpose of the grant project was to see if there would be less maintenance involved using the fence system vs. nets on the bottom and, also whether the clams in the fence system would grow larger than the clams under the nets on the bottom because they would be less restricted by sand building up on top of them.

Efficiency Of Haul-Seine Cull Panels: A Comparison Of Size Selectivity And Relative Release Second Season, Christian Hagar

Reports

In 2001, eight bycatch reduction panels were .placed in a haul-seine pocket in order to examine fishes' release. Each panel contained fourteen rings 1 718 • in diameter and six 5 118 • long and 29132 • high. The number of rings totaled 112 and slots totaled 48. Release tests were conducted fourteen times from March to November. Study sites were located along the southern shore of the York River and at its mouth where it enters the Chesapeake Bay. Panels allowed 50% of the croaker < 9.6" (245mm), 50% of the flounder < 13.1" " (333mm), 42% of the spot< 7.9 " (200mm), and 60% of the stripe rs < 10.4" (265mm) and 40 % of the weakfish< 12.2" (310mm). that were pocketed to escape. However, very few small croaker were caught and 42% of the undersized flounder, 43% of the undersized spot, 16% of the undersized striped bass and 95% of the undersized weakfish were gilled and thus prevented from panel interaction. Gilling reduced overall release percentages for flounder to 29%, spot to 24% and weakfish to 2%. Statistical analysis of flounder and spot release revealed probabilities of occurrence of < .0005 showing that release of pocketed fishes below specified sizes was highly significant. Croaker and striped bass were not statistically examined due to small sample sizes. The study shows that release panels can reduce culling effort by passively releasing sub-marketable fishes, thus improving catch per unit effort, without profit loss.

Artificial Reef Grow-Out, Jeff Hammer

Reports

The purpose of this project, was to address the possibility of improving upon the cun-ent grow out procedures currently being used by the oyster aquaculture industty. I.e. Taylor floats - Rack and bag.

As stated in the proposal, the current adopted method of raising oysters is to use Taylor floats. This method has proven to be effective in producing market sized oysters in 1- 2 years, although intensive labor cost and high fouling rates decrease profit margins considerably. Also the availability of suitable sites is now under increased regulations and is not welcomed in some waterfront communities.

My proposal was …

Peeler Pot Cull Ring Data, Bradley M. Knight

Reports

This Data was gathered from Occohannock Creek, a bayside creek in Northampton County, Virginia.The crabs here are usually larger than other creeks on the Eastern Shore. The pots were set out April 9th.;it had been a warm start to but it cooled down and the wind stayed Northeast for a very long time.Because of shallow water ;wind and tide direction the time to fish the traps is not very accurate.

Enhancement Of Seed Oyster Recovery And Redeployment: Final Report, William Magann

Reports

Today's task involved loading harvesting bag with 1,220 lbs of ballast stone and hanging in test frame. This test will test support straps for fraying or unraveling and test overall for bag durability.

Comparing Oyster Seed Growth Rates Using A Floating Upweller System (“Flupsy”) Vs. Traditional Taylor Floats, Jeff Gardner

Reports

The fisheries Grant R G 99-20 to Study Oyster seed Growth using a FLUPSY (floating upweller system) vs. traditional bag/float system was a ve1y successful project. We were able after two years to reach interesting and informative conclusions. A "Report Summary "section is attached following this narrative.

Comparative Growth Rates Of Four Strains Of The American Oyster Using Two Grow-Out Methods, Thomas Leggett

Reports

4 strains of the American oyster were grown using two grow-out methods; rack and bag as is done in France, and bottom trays stacked on PVC racks. Growth was measured over a 10-monthperiod and the suitability of each grow-out method was qualitatively evaluated for suitability for use in oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay. There appeared to be little difference in growth rate between strains, however growth appeared more rapid using the rack and bag method for all strains. In addition, the rack and tray method was slightly more expensive fur more labor intensive and difficult to manage than the …

Efficiency Of Haul-Seine Cull Panels A Comparison Of Size Selectivity And Relative Release, Christian Hagar

Reports

In the summer of 2000, two methods of reducing haul-seine bycatch were tested on the York River, located on the southwestern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Both methods allowed sub-marketable fishes to escape the haul-seine's pocket through a 4' diameter metal panel containing 298 rings with 2" diameters. The release methods differed due to the placement of this panel. The first method placed the panel in the side of the pocket. It released approximately 33% of the croaker< 252 mm (9.9 ") and 65% of the spot < 206 mm (8.1 "). The second method placed the panel at the end of a funnel that was connected to the pocket. This arrangement released 16% of the croaker < 252 mm (9. 9 ") and 46% of the spot <206 mm (8.1 "). Unfortunately, the funnel directed so many large fishes toward the panel that the mechanism became overcrowded and small fishes were prevented panel access. Statistical analysis of method 1 's release of submarketable croaker and spot revealed probabilities of occurrence of< .0005. This study shows great promise. Continued refinement of panel placement and design promises a significant means of release for sub-marketable fishes. Sparing sub-marketable fishes will increase catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and allow large numbers of juvenile fishes to survive, which are currently harvested before their growth potential is maximized.