Government-Industry Cooperative Fisheries Research in the North Pacific under the MSFCMA

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) has a long and successful history of conducting research in cooperation with the fishing industry. Many of the AFSC’s annual resource assessment surveys are carried out aboard chartered commercial vessels and the skill and experience of captains and crew are integral to the success of this work. Fishing companies have been contracted to provide vessels and expertise for many different types of research, including testing and evaluation of survey and commercial fishing gear and development of improved methods for estimating commercial catch quantity and composition. AFSC scientists have also participated in a number of industry-initiated research projects including development of selective fishing gears for bycatch reduction and evaluating and improving observer catch composition sampling. In this paper, we describe the legal and regulatory provisions for these types of cooperative work and present examples to illustrate the process and identify the requirements for successful cooperative research.

Estimation of Standardized Effort in the Heterogeneous Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fleet

In this paper we estimate nominal and standardized shrimping effort in the Gulf of Mexico for the years 1965 through 1993. We accomplish this by first developing a standardization method (model) and then an expansion method (model). The expansion model estimates nominal days fished for noninterview landings data. The standardization model converts nominal days fished to standard days fished. We then characterize the historical trends of the penaeid shrimp fishery byvessel configuration, relative fishing power, and nominal and standardized effort. Wherever possible, we provide comparison with previous estimates by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

An Economic Analysis of Texas Shrimp Season Closures

Management of the Texas penaeid shrimp fishery is aimed at increasing revenue from brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus, landings and decreasing the level of discards. Since 1960 Texas has closed its territorial sea for 45-60 days during peak migration of brown shrimp to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1981 the closure was extended to 200 miles to include the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Simulation modeling is used in this paper to estimate the changes in landings, revenue, costs, and economic rent attributable to the Texas closure. Four additional analyses were conducted to estimate the effects of closing the Gulf 1- to 4-fathom zone for 45 and 60 days, with and without effort redirected to inshore waters. Distributional impacts are analyzed in terms of costs, revenues, and rents, by vessel class, shrimp species, vessel owner, and crew.

Simulated Economic Impact of TED Regulations on Selected Vessels in the Texas Shrimp Fishery

Shrimp fishermen trawling in the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic inadvertently capture and kill sea turtles which are classified as endangered species. Recent legislation requires the use of a Turtle Excluder Device(TED) which, when in place in the shrimp trawl, reduces sea turtle mortality. The impact of the TED on shrimp production is not known. This intermediate analysis of the TED regulations using an annual firm level simulation model indicated that the average Texas shrimp vessel had a low probability of being an economic success before regulations were enacted. An assumption that the TED regulations resulted in decreased production aggravated this condition and the change in Ending Net Worth and Net Present Value of Ending Net Worth before and after a TED was placed in the net was significant at the 5 percent level. However, the difference in the Internal Rate of Return for the TED and non-TED simulations was not significant unless the TED caused a substantial change in catch. This analysis did not allow for interactions between the fishermen in the shrimp industry, an assumption which could significantly alter the impact of TED use on the catch and earnings of the individual shrimp vessel.

Fish consumption by harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands, Washington

The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) is a large-bodied and abundant predator in the Salish Sea ecosystem, and its population has recovered since the 1970s after passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the cessation of bounties. Little is known about how this large predator population may affect the recovery of fish stocks in the Salish Sea, where candidate marine protected areas are being proposed. We used a bioenergetics model to calculate baseline consumption rates in the San Juan Islands, Washington. Salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) and herring (Clupeidae) were the 2 most energetically important prey groups for biomass consumed by harbor seals. Estimated consumption of salmonids was 783 (±380 standard deviation [SD]) metric tons (t) in the breeding season and 675 (±388 SD t in the nonbreeding season. Estimated consumption of herring was 646 (±303 SD) t in the breeding season and 2151 (±706 SD) t in the nonbreeding season. Rockfish, a depressed fish stock currently in need of population recovery, composed one of the minor prey groups consumed by harbor seals (84 [±26 SD] t in the nonbreeding season). The variables of seal body mass and proportion of prey in seal diet explained >80% of the total variation in model outputs. Prey groups, such as rockfish, that are targeted for recovery may still be affected by even low levels of predation. This study highlights the importance of salmonids and herring for the seal population and provides a framework for refining consumption estimates and their confidence intervals with future data.

A biogeographic assessment of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: a review of boundary expansion concepts for NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program

The priority management goal of the National Marine Sanctuaries Program (NMSP) is to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity. This goal requires an understanding of broad-scale ecological relationships and linkages between marine resources and physical oceanography to support an ecosystem management approach. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) is currently reviewing its management plan and investigating boundary expansion. A management plan study area (henceforth, Study Area) was described that extends from the current boundary north to the mainland, and extends north to Point Sal and south to Point Dume. Six additional boundary concepts were developed that vary in area and include the majority of the Study Area. The NMSP and CINMS partnered with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Biogeography Team to conduct a biogeographic assessment to characterize marine resources and oceanographic patterns within and adjacent to the sanctuary. This assessment includes a suite of quantitative spatial and statistical analyses that characterize biological and oceanographic patterns in the marine region from Point Sal to the U.S.-Mexico border. These data were analyzed using an index which evaluates an ecological “cost-benefit” within the proposed boundary concepts and the Study Area. The sanctuary resides in a dynamic setting where two oceanographic regimes meet. Cold northern waters mix with warm southern waters around the Channel Islands creating an area of transition that strongly influences the regions oceanography. In turn, these processes drive the biological distributions within the region. This assessment analyzes bathymetry, benthic substrate, bathymetric life-zones, sea surface temperature, primary production, currents, submerged aquatic vegetation, and kelp in the context of broad-scale patterns and relative to the proposed boundary concepts and the Study Area. Boundary cost-benefit results for these parameters were variable due to their dynamic nature; however, when analyzed in composite the Study Area and Boundary Concept 2 were considered the most favorable. Biological data were collected from numerous resource agencies and university scientists for this assessment. Fish and invertebrate trawl data were used to characterize community structure. Habitat suitability models were developed for 15 species of macroinvertebrates and 11 species of fish that have significant ecological, commercial, or recreational importance in the region and general patterns of ichthyoplankton distribution are described. Six surveys of ship and plane at-sea surveys were used to model marine bird diversity from Point Arena to the U.S.-Mexico border. Additional surveys were utilized to estimate density and colony counts for nine bird species. Critical habitat for western snowy plover and the location of California least tern breeding pairs were also analyzed. At-sea surveys were also used to describe the distribution of 14 species of cetaceans and five species of pinnipeds. Boundary concept cost-benefit indices revealed that Boundary Concept 2 and the Study Area were most favorable for the majority of the species-specific analyses. Boundary Concept 3 was most favorable for bird diversity across the region. Inadequate spatial resolution for fish and invertebrate community data and incompatible sampling effort information for bird and mammal data precluded boundary cost-benefit analysis.

Coral reef ecosystems of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: spatial and temporal patterns in fish and benthic communities (2001-2009)

Scientific and anecdotal observations during recent decades have suggested that the structure and function of the coral reef ecosystems around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands have been impacted adversely by a wide range of environmental stressors. Major stressors included the mass die-off of the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) in the early 1980s, a series of hurricanes (David and Frederick in 1979, and Hugo in 1989), overfishing, mass mortality of Acropora species and other reef-building corals due to disease and several coral bleaching events. In response to these adverse impacts, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) collaborated with federal and territorial partners to characterize, monitor, and assess the status of the marine environment around the island from 2001 to 2012. This 13-year monitoring effort, known as the Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Project (CREM), was supported by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program as part of their National Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Program. This technical memorandum contains analysis of nine years of data (2001-2009) from in situ fish belt transect and benthic habitat quadrat surveys conducted in and around the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) and the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR). The purpose of this document is to: 1) Quantify spatial patterns and temporal trends in (i) benthic habitat composition and (ii) fish species abundance, size structure, biomass, and diversity; 2) Provide maps showing the locations of biological surveys and broad-scale distributions of key fish and benthic species and assemblages; and 3) Compare benthic habitat composition and reef fish assemblages in areas under NPS jurisdiction with those in similar areas not managed by NPS (i.e., outside of the VIIS and VICR boundaries). This report provides key information to help the St. John management community and others understand the impacts of natural and man-made perturbations on coral reef and near-shore ecosystems. It also supports ecosystem-based management efforts to conserve the region’s coral reef and related fauna while maintaining the many goods and ecological services that they offer to society.

Land-sea characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands

The St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP) was established in 2003 as the first multi-use marine park managed by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. It encompasses an area of approximately 155 km2 and is entirely within Territorial waters which extend up to 3 nautical miles from shore. As stated in the 2002 management plan, the original goals were to: protect and maintain the biological diversity and other natural values of the area; promote sound management practices for sustainable production purposes; protect the natural resource base from being alienated for other land use purposes that would be detrimental to the area’s biological diversity; and to contribute to regional and national development (The Nature Conservancy, 2002). At the time of its establishment, there were substantial data gaps in knowledge about living marine resources in the St. Croix, and existing data were inadequate for establishing baselines from which to measure the future performance of the various management zones within the park. In response to these data gaps, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) worked with territorial partners to characterize and assess the status of the marine environment in and around the STXEEMP and land-based stressors that affect them. This project collected and analyzed data on the distribution, diversity and landscape condition of marine communities across the STXEEMP. Specifically, this project characterized (1) landscape and adjacent seascape condition relevant to threats to coral reef ecosystem health, and (2) the marine communities within STXEEMP zones to increase local knowledge of resources exposed to different regulations and stressors.

Fish movement patterns in Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument and adjacent waters

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)-Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s (CCMA) Biogeography Branch, National Park Service (NPS), US Geological Survey, and the University of Hawaii used acoustic telemetry to quantify spatial patterns and habitat affinities of reef fishes around the island of St. John, US Virgin Islands. The objective of the study was to define the movements of reef fishes among habitats within and between the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), and Territorial waters surrounding St. John. In order to better understand species’ habitat utilization patterns among management regimes, we deployed an array of hydroacoustic receivers and acoustically tagged reef fishes. Thirty six receivers were deployed in shallow near-shore bays and across the shelf to depths of approximately 30 m. One hundred eighty four individual fishes were tagged representing 19 species from 10 different families with VEMCO V9-2L-R64K transmitters. The array provides fish movement information at fine (e.g., day-night and 100s meters within a bay) to broad spatial and temporal scales (multiple years and 1000s meters across the shelf). The long term multi-year tracking project provides direct evidence of connectivity across habitat types in the seascape and among management units. An important finding for management was that a number of individuals moved among management units (VICRNM, VINP, Territorial waters) and several snapper moved from near-shore protected areas to offshore shelf-edge spawning aggregations. However, most individuals spent the majority of their time with VIIS and VICRNM, with only a few wide-ranging species moving outside the management units. Five species of snappers (Lutjanidae) accounted for 31% of all individuals tagged, followed by three species of grunts (Haemulidae) accounting for an additional 23% of the total. No other family had more than a single species represented in the study. Bluestripe grunt (Haemulon sciurus) comprised 22% of all individuals tagged, followed by lane snappers (Lutjanus synagris) at 21%, bar jack (Carangoides ruber) at 11%, and saucereye porgy (Calamus calamus) at 10%. The largest individual tagged was a 70 cm TL nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), followed by a 65 cm mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis), a 47 cm bar jack, and a 41 cm dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu). The smallest individuals tagged were a 19 cm blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) and a 19.2 cm doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus). Of the 40 bluestriped grunt acoustically tagged, 73% were detected on the receiver array. The average days at large (DAL) was 249 (just over 8 months), with one individual detected for 930 days (over two and a half years). Lane snapper were the next most abundant species tagged (N = 38) with 89% detected on the array. The average days at large (DAL) was 221 with one individual detected for 351 days. Seventy-one percent of the bar jacks (N = 21) were detected on the array with the average DALs at 47 days. All of the mutton snapper (N = 12) were detected on the array with an average DAL of 273 and the longest at 784. The average maximum distance travelled (MDT) was ca. 2 km with large variations among species. Grunts, snappers, jacks, and porgies showed the greatest movements. Among all individuals across species, there was a positive and significant correlation between size of individuals and MDT and between DAL and MDT.