Research philosophy
CSQURT researchers take a wholistic approach to fisheries science. Our goal is to help improve fisheries management through the development and use of evidence-based science that brings data to bear in the decision-making process.
Research at CSQURT focuses on understanding population dynamics of marine and freshwater species and using this information to improve fisheries management. Active areas of research are development and testing of stock assessment models, evaluating efficacy of alternative fishery management options, and other quantitative research in support of fisheries management. Our research activities span a range of finfish and shellfish species, including summer flounder, American eel, Atlantic menhaden, blue crab, eastern oyster, sea lamprey, and king mackerel, and regions, such as Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Our two primary areas of research interest are:
Stock assessment
- Development of stock assessment models to estimate abundance of important Chesapeake Bay stocks
- Stock assessment for eastern oyster in the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay
- Development of ecosystem-based reference points for Atlantic menhaden
- Estimation of patent tong efficiency for oysters on restored bars
- When are sex-specific stock assessments necessary
- Development of new methods for selecting among stock assessment models
- Developing spatially explicit assessment tools for eastern oyster in Chesapeake Bay
- Assessment and research activities in support of management of the blue crab stock in Chesapeake Bay
- Robust ecosystem-based catch limits for blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay
- Evaluation of Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) control rules for a Mid-Atlantic stock
- Estimating early mortality and implications for reference points for the Atlantic menhaden stock
- Assessment of local abundance, demographics, health and exploitation of Chesapeake Bay American eel
- Improving sea lamprey control through use of historical data to inform selection of sites for lampricide treatment
Quantitative Fisheries and Ecology Research
- Spatial habitat usage by Atlantic rock and Jonah crabs
- Evaluation of data usage to support fishery management decision-making
- Mysid predator-prey and population dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay
- Testing harvest control rules for linked predator-prey systems for Altantic menhaden and striped bass
- Oyster Consensus Modeling with the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission
- OysterFutures: Evaluation of management and restoration options for oysters in the Choptank River complex
- Evaluation of management options for the recreational summer flounder fishery
- CAMEO - Patterns of connectivity in northwest Atlantic fishery ecosystems
- FishSmart: a stakeholder-centered process for developing and testing management options
- Sperm limitation of blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay
- Estimating survival and moovement rates of adult Atlantic menhaden
- Recruitment of Atlantic menhaden: dynamics and ecology of the larval-juvenile transition in Chesapeake Bay
- Temporal and spatial variability in larval influx, production & recruitment of young-of-the-year Atlantic menhaden & bay anchovy in Chesapeake Bay
- A creel survey for early spring fisheries of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay tributaries
- A survey of commercial blue crab effort in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay
CSQURT