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Current Research
Stock Assessment
Assessment of local
abundance, demographics, health and exploitation of Chesapeake Bay American
eel. This collaborative project with Dave Secor and was funded by the NOAA Chesapeake
Bay Office
to 1) Measure local abundances of yellow eels in three regions of
Potomac River, 2) Measure exploitation rate in spring and fall
segments of the Potomac River fishery, 3) Conduct demographic studies
of eels in the Potomac, Upper Bay, Choptank, and James Rivers, 4)
Estimate natural mortality rates; construct SPR reference point,
5) Develop stock assessment models for the Potomac and other
Chesapeake Bay tributaries to evaluate affect of exploitation on stock
production, 6) Evaluate regional trends in abundance from fishery
and fishery independent datasets in the Chesapeake Bay, and 7) Conduct
literature review of eel studies pertinent to the status of American
eels in the Chesapeake Bay, emphasizing issues related to
socioeconomics of eel fisheries, habitat, disease, pollution, and
recruitment. Kari Fenske completed her M.S. degree on this
project.
Developing spatially explicit assessment tools
for eastern oyster in Chesapeake Bay. This collaborative research with Tom Miller is sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
to 1) Develop a framework for designing spatially explicit stock
assessment models for oysters, 2) Determine whether currently
collected data are adequate to generate reasonably precise estimates of
abundance and mortality rates, 3) Provide guidance of improvements to
existing fishery-independent and fishery-dependent data collection
based on the application of survey data in assessment models, and
4) Evaluate feasibility of incorporating environmental factors
into assessment models (e.g., temperature, salinity, disease
prevalence). Maude Livings is conducting research on this project
toward her M.S. degree.
Improving sea lamprey control through use of
historical data to inform selection of sites for lampricide treatment. This collaborative project with Mike Jones and Jean Adams was funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
to 1) Develop models to incorporate previous years’ data into St.
Marys River sea lamprey assessment, 2) Determine whether use of
historical data improves estimates of abundance within plots in the St.
Marys River, 3) Determine whether current sampling effort can be
better used to achieve more precise estimates of larval sea lamprey
abundance, and 4) Evaluate the potential for application of
similar methods to other streams. Jason Robinson is conducting
research on this project toward his Ph.D.
Assessment and
research activities in support of management of the blue crab stock in Chesapeake Bay. This collaborative project with investigators from CBL, VIMS, SERC, Maryland DNR, and VMRC is sponsored by NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Our portion of the project involves development and testing of
new stock assessment models and reference points for blue crabs in
Cheseapeake Bay.
Fisheries Management
FishSmart: Enhancing the sustainability of
recreational fisheries through improved management and angling practices. This collaborative project with Tom Miller and Dave Secor was sponsored by the Gordon and Betty Moore
Foundation to develop techniques to enhance sustainability of
recreational fisheries by incorporating a wide range of stakeholders
into a formal evaluation of consequences of potential conservation and
management actions. Tom Ihde was the post doc on this project.
Fisheries Ecology
Recruitment of Atlantic Menhaden: Dynamics and
Ecology of the Larval-Juvenile Transition in Chesapeake
Bay. This collaborative project with Ed Houde and Dave Secor was sponsored by the NOAA Chesapeake
Bay Office
to describe, analyze and model the ecology and growth dynamics of
recruiting Atlantic menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, during the transition
period between the winter ingress of larvae and juvenile summertime
recruitment.
Temporal and spatial variability in larval
influx, production & recruitment of young-of-the-year Atlantic menhaden
& bay anchovy in Chesapeake Bay. This collaborative project with Ed Houde and Dave Secor was sponsored by the NOAA Chesapeake
Bay Office and Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Survey Design and Implementation
A survey of commercial
blue crab effort in the Maryland portion of
the Chesapeake Bay. This collaborative project with Ward Slacum (Versar) and Tom Miller is sponsored by Maryland Department of Natural Resources
to conduct an ongoing survey estimate commercial fishing effort in MD
waters of Chesapeake Bay. Our approach consists of a survey of
crab pot effort in the mainstem of the bay and a pilot survey of
trotline effort in the tributaries of the bay.
A creel survey for
early spring fisheries of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay tributaries. This project is sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
to estimate fishing effort and catch in spring fisheries in tributaries
of Chesapeake Bay. The primary species of interest is yellow
perch.
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