Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

The Development And Evaluation Of Small Specialized Turtle Excluder Devices To Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch In Various Small Shrimp Gears, Meghan P. Gahm

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the southeastern United States, skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls, wing nets, and small try nets (headrope length less than 12-ft (3.66-m)) are exempt from using a turtle excluder device (TED) and instead must adhere to tow time restrictions as a mode to mitigate sea turtle bycatch. However, observer and stranding data indicate that these tow times may often be exceeded and result in mortality of sea turtles. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in December 2016 to extend TED requirements to other trawl types, however there has been limited development of specialized TEDs for …

Incidence And Prevalence Of Francisella Noatunensis Subsp. Orientalis (Fno) Pathogenic Infections In Feral Hawaiian Tilapia, Daquille Peppers

Biology Theses

Aquaculture has become a major food source for many countries and continues to grow each year. However, many of the fishes that are farmed are susceptible to pathogenic infections such as Francisellosis, a bacterial infection that contributes to disease and high mortality rate in many populations of farmed and wild fish around the world. In 1994, feral and farmed populations of tilapia (e.g. Oreochromis mossambicus) on Oahu, Hawaii were found to be infected with a novel Francisellosis strain, Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis (Fno). To prevent the spread of this pathogen, the Hawaii Department of Aquaculture (HDOA) initiated …

Multi-Instrument Evaluation Of A Real-Time Pcr Assay For Identification Of Atlantic Salmon: A Case Study On The Use Of A Pre-Packaged Kit For Rapid Seafood Species Identification, Amanda A. Naaum, Rosalee S. Hellberg, Tara A. Okuma, Robert H. Hanner

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

Protecting the seafood supply chain from species substitution is critical for economic, health, and conservation reasons. DNA-based methods represent an effective means to detect species substitution, but current methods can be time consuming or costly, and require specialized instruments and operators. Real-time PCR provides an alternative that can be performed quickly, and in some cases even on-site. The use of commercial kits reduces the expertise required by the operator and therefore increases accessibility to testing. This potentially increases the likelihood of adoption into the supply chain, but only if the kits are robust across multiple operators, instruments, and samples. In …

Effect Of Beaver On Brook Trout Habitat In North Shore, Lake Superior Streams, Kathryn Renik

Biology Graduate Theses

In Minnesota, North American Beavers Castor canadensis (hereafter Beaver) are considered to have an overall negative affect on native Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis. Brook Trout provide a valued and productive sport fishery to the North Shore streams of Lake Superior and since revival of the Beaver population from past trapping and timber harvest, a reexamination of the complex ecological relationship where the two taxa interact is imperative. Suitable Brook Trout habitat is characterized by cold, spring- fed water with silt-free rocky substrate and abundant cover, all of which Beaver may directly, or indirectly, affect. Data collection occurred on 79 (200 …

How Characteristic Is The Species Characteristic Selection Scale?, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Aim: The importance of framing investigations of organism–environment relationships to interpret patterns at relevant spatial scales is increasingly recognized. However, most research related to environmental relationships is single‐scaled, implicitly or explicitly assuming that a “species characteristic selection scale” exists. We tested the premise that a single characteristic scale exists to understand species– environment relationships within species by asking (a) what are the characteristic scales of species’ relationships with environmental predictors, and (b) is within species, cross‐predictor consistency in characteristic scales a general phenomenon.

Location: Nebraska, USA.

Time period: 2016.

Major taxa studied: Birds.

Methods: We used data from 86 species …

Operationalizing Ecological Resilience Concepts For Managing Species And Ecosystems At Risk, Jeanne C. Chambers, Craig R. Allen, Samuel A. Cushman

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

This review provides an overview and integration of the use of resilience concepts to guide natural resources management actions. We emphasize ecosystems and landscapes and provide examples of the use of these concepts from empirical research in applied ecology. We begin with a discussion of definitions and concepts of ecological resilience and related terms that are applicable to management. We suggest that a resilience-based framework for management facilitates regional planning by providing the ability to locate management actions where they will have the greatest benefits and determine effective management strategies. We review the six key components of a resilience-based framework, …

Life History Of A Clear Stream Minnow: Growth, Reproduction, Habitat Use, And Diet Of Notropis Boops (Bigeye Shiner) In Triplett Creek, Matthew T. Fossett

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Matthew T. Fossett on July 6, 2019.

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Private Leasing Grounds, Nathan Burchard

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

During its 2019 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation related to the private leasing grounds program. In addition to increasing lease application and transfer fees and requiring that VMRC establish a fee structure for lease renewals, the new legislation also expanded the factors for VMRC to consider when approving, renewing, or transferring a lease. In spring 2019, VMRC formed the Aquaculture Management Advisory Committee (AMAC), which will provide ongoing management advisory assistance to VMRC staff and continue to address shellfish management issues addressed by the SNR Work Group. AMAC is comprised of industry, nonprofit, and academic …

Shellfish Production In Virginia: Public Grounds, Geoffrey Grau

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

One potential impediment to the continued growth of the aquaculture industry in Virginia is the current management framework associated with the use of the public Baylor Grounds. Virginia’s constitution provides, in part, that the “natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals in the waters of the Commonwealth shall not be leased, rented, or sold but shall be held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth.” Originally, oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay (the “Bay”) were so plentiful that “oyster reefs rose so high that they grazed the bottoms of boats sailing the Bay.” By the late 19th …

Landscape Edges Shape Dispersal And Population Structure Of A Migratory Fish, Mark A. Kaemingk, S. E. Swearer, S. J. Bury, J. S. Shima

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Many freshwater organisms have a life-history stage that can disperse through seawater. This has obvious benefits for colonization and connectivity of fragmented sub-populations, but requires a physiologically challenging migration across a salinity boundary. We consider the role of landscape boundaries between freshwater and seawater habitats, and evaluate their potential effects on traits and developmental histories of larvae and juveniles (i.e., dispersing life-history stages) of an amphidromous fish, Galaxias maculatus. We sampled juvenile fish on their return to 20 rivers in New Zealand: 10 rivers had abrupt transitions to the sea (i.e., emptying to an open coastline); these were paired …

The Roles Of Cyp19ala And Dmrt1 During Gonadal Sex Differentiation And Sex Change In Orange-Spotted Grouper, Epinephelus Coioides, Chia-Yung Chen, Ya-Ju Tsai, Ching-Fong Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Sex steroids play a crucial role in gonadal sex differentiation in many nonmammalian vertebrates, including hermaphroditic teleosts. The current study investigates the mRNA expression levels of gonadal cyp19a1a, dmrt1, sf-1, dax-1 and 11β-hsd in the protogynous orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides, at certain stages during sex differentiation and sex change. Among the genes whose mRNA levels were determined through quantitative RT-PCR analysis, cyp19a1a was predominantly expressed in the ovary, and its expression was much lower in the testis. The level of cyp19a1a expressed at 150 dah was significantly high enough to trigger the pre-gyno female development of protogynous (subadult) orange-spotted grouper. …

Selected Quality Attributes Of Frozen Farmed Giant Grouper (Epinephelus Lanceolatus) As A Function Of Storage Temperature, Wen-Chieh Sung, Jing-Rong Lin, Tze-Kuei Chiou, Yu-Wei Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The effects of storage temperature (-20°C, -30°C and -55°C) on selected quality-related characteristics of vacuum packed frozen giant grouper fillets (Epinephelus lanceolatus) stored for 6 months were evaluated. The following quality attributes were measured: proximate composition, pH, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, total volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), ATP related compounds, K value, microbiological analysis, color, texture and sensory evaluation. Formation of TBA was low in the giant grouper fillet, with a value of less than 3.91 mg malondialdehyde (MDA) kg-1, after 6 months storage at -30 and -55°C. No significant differences were found in pH, total plate count (TPC), white index …

Effects Of Dietary Mortierella Alpine Meal Levels On Growth, Body Fatty Acid Composition And Arachidonic Acid Retention For Orange-Spotted Grouper, Epinephelus Coioides, Yu-Hung Lin, Man-Ting Chiu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study investigated the effect of using Mortierella alpina meal (MAM) as a dietary arachidonic acid (ARA) source on the growth, whole-body fatty acid composition, and ARA retention of the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Four diets supplemented with 0% (control), 1%, 2%, and 5% MAM actually contained 0.93%, 1.14%, 1.34%, and 1.93% ARA. Four experimental diets were fed to triplicate groups of fish (initial weight: 7.21 ± 0.21 g) in a recirculating system for 8 weeks. The final body weight, weight gain percentage, specific growth rate, daily feed intake, feed efficiency, and survival of fish did not significantly differ (p …

Fish Performance, Nutrient Digestibilities, And Hepatic And Intestinal Morphologies In Grouper Epinephelus Fuscoguttatus Fed Fermented Copra Meal, Roger Edward P. Mamauag, Janice A. Ragaza, Trisha J. Nacionales

Biology Faculty Publications

Protein enhanced copra meal (PECM®) is an alternative, cheap, and sustainable source of plant protein for the aquafeed industry, albeit its use on carnivorous fish species has been very limited. A 70-day feeding trial using grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (initial mean body weight of 1.86 ± 0.19 g) tested fermented copra meal as feed ingredient. Six isonitrogenous (crude protein of 45%) and iso-lipidic (crude fat of 11%) diets consisted of PECM®: a control diet at 0% soybean meal replacement (C); four diets replacing soybean meal at 25% (FC25), 50% (FC50), 75% (FC75), 100% (FC100) – all with methionine and lysine supplementation; …

Aquatic Invasive Species Change Ecosystem Services From The World's Largest Wild Sockeye Salmon Fisheries In Alaska, Tobias Schwoerer, Joseph M. Little, Milo D. Adkison

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study combines a multi-method approach to structured expert judgment with market valuation to forecast fisheries damages from introduced invasive species. The method is applied to a case study of Alaska’s first submersed aquatic invasive plant, Elodea spp., threatening Alaska’s salmon fisheries. Assuming that Elodea spp. remains unmanaged, estimated mean damages to commercial sockeye fisheries aggregated across Alaska amount to a potential $159 million annually with a 5% chance of exceeding $577 million annually ($2015 USD). The associated mean loss of natural capital amounts to $5.1 billion cumulatively over the next 100 years reaching $400 million after 10 years. …

Any Port In A Storm: Vessel Activity And The Risk Of Iuu-Caught Fish Passing Through The World’S Most Important Fishing Ports, Gilles Hosch, Bradley Soule, Max Schofield, Trevor Thomas, Charles Kilgour, Tim Huntington

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study assesses the risk of fish from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) sources passing through the world’s most important fishing ports and explores the drivers of this risk.

Like previous studies it has attempted to rank ports and States based on landings and vessel visits reported by governments by using Automatic Identification System (AIS) positional data transmitted by fishing and fish carrier vessels to identify the locations of ports and rank them based on the frequency of visits by foreign-flagged and domestic-flagged vessels. It advances our thinking in that (i) the analysis includes an estimation of the hold capacity …

Stress And Body Composition Of Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Brandon Scott Tappmeyer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), is a species of conservation concern that is the subject of multiple head-start and reintroduction efforts across its range. In captive propagation programs, producing offspring that are in optimal physiological condition maximizes the likelihood of success after release. The purpose of my study was to compare stress and body composition between one free-ranging reintroduced population and two captive populations. The two captive populations were both housed in southern Oklahoma, but one group was reared indoors whereas the other inhabited outdoor ponds at a national fish hatchery. I used circulating glucocorticoid (corticosterone) concentrations as an …

A Low-Water Crossing Impacts Movement Behavior Of Northern Hog Suckers In An Ozark Stream, Jeff Michael Williams

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Low-water crossings are common in Ozark streams and can restrict longitudinal movement in fishes. I evaluated the impact of the Cedar Grove low-water crossing on Northern Hog Sucker Hypentelium nigricans movement behavior in Missouri’s Current River. Radio-tagged fish upstream (henceforth ‘above’; N = 24) and downstream (henceforth ‘below’; N = 26) of the crossing were followed monthly for a year to assess 1) frequency of fish passage, 2) direction of passage, and 3) maximum displacement of mobile (displacement > 1 km) fish. I then looked at diel movement behavior of stationary (displacement < 1 km) fish near the crossing to assess 1) total displacement and linear home range, 2) direction of diel displacement, and 3) habitat use. Passage was limited to four below-tagged fish and was more likely to occur in the upstream direction and during high flow. The direction of maximum displacement in mobile fish was primarily away from the crossing, and below-tagged fish exhibited over seven times greater displacement than above-tagged fish. Diel displacement and linear home range were greater in above-tagged fish, likely due to degraded upstream habitat that increased the distance between day and night habitats. My results suggest the crossing is a semi-permeable barrier that also affects local-scale movement behavior of Northern Hog Suckers. Alternatives to the low-water crossings at Cedar Grove, such as modifying the side channel into a fish bypass, should be considered to promote natural longitudinal movement of fishes in the upper Current River.

Demersal Fish Use Of Printed Oyster Shells As Nesting Habitat In North Inlet Estuary, Sc, Annie Boyd, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Temperate estuarine blenny species establish subtidal territories and nesting sites. Four blenny species co-occur in North Inlet, SC including the striped blenny, Chasmodes bosquianus, crested blenny, Hypleurochilus geminatus, feather blenny, Hypsoblennius hentzi, and freckled blenny, Hypsoblennius ionthas. All four fishes use empty oyster (Crassostrea virginica) shells as nesting sites. Current 3D printer technology was used to create standard nest substrates to describe relationships between blenny habitat use and nest site dimensions. Replicate printed shells of 2 gape widths (5, 7 mm) for each of 2 shell cavity volumes (22 mL, 15mL, Oyster A and …

A Fishy Problem: Effects Of Atlantic Salmon Farming In The Pacific Ocean, Madeleine A. Griffith

Student Theses 2015-Present

In this report, I explore the historical, climatological, economic, and ethical issues created by the contemporary industrial salmon farming practices off Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. Chapter 1 utilizes a variety of sources from Stephen Hume’s A Stain upon the Sea to Miller’s Living in the Environment, to examine the integral part salmon plays in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the ecosystem services salmon contribute in wild and farmed settings, and the trends in salmon consumption around the world. Chapter 2 examines the historically relevant role salmon held among indigenous societies and how that role has changed …