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Sea Grant Contributions
to the Nation in
Fisheries
Addressing Fisheries Issues
in the Modern Era
The goal of the Sea Grant Fisheries Initiative is to
provide the nation with information required for managing fisheries
in an environmentally sensitive, economically sound and sustainable
manner through an integrated research and outreach program. Sea
Grant seeks to address fisheries issues in nine key areas (new approaches
to fisheries management, population dynamics, socio-economics, advanced
sampling technology, stock enhancement, essential fisheries habitat,
harvest technology/conservation engineering, fisheries oceanography
and Great Lakes fisheries) in partnership with state and Federal
natural resource agencies and organizations and with stakeholders.
Sea Grant Produces National Benefits
Recent investment in Sea Grant fisheries programming has resulted in the following outcomes.
An economic analysis of proposed regulations for the Maryland blue crab harvest for 2002 saved the
processing industry $4.5 million by allowing the importation of smaller legal crabs from other states.
The incidence of the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat seafood declined by 80 percent
following studies to identify sources and successful control strategies.
A study that combined side-scan sonar and a digital high-resolution sub-bottom profiler provided a reliable
method for making detailed and reliable "3-D pictures" of shallow coastal water bottoms.
Educational efforts by Sea Grant extension agents helped defuse serious tensions between Vietnamese
fishermen and state and Federal enforcement agents in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Program and educational materials developed by Sea Grant specialists in the Great Lakes provided HACCP
training to hatchery personnel and baitfish handlers to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species.
Meetings facilitated by Great Lakes Sea Grant extension staff produced a four-state consensus on
commercial and recreational catch regulations.
Sea Grant researchers were the first to discover that a major cause of PCB pollution in water bodies comes
from atmospheric deposition.
A Sea Grant researcher found that the standard practice of fishing for the largest size fish can change the
genetic balance of the population.
A Sea Grant initiative established a task force to coordinate research, communication and outreach on
botulism that recently killed thousands of waterfowl and fish in Lake Erie.
Sea Grant coordinated 900 volunteers who restored 53 oyster reefs at 20 sites along the South Carolina coast
since 2000.
Sea Grant research on the Kemp's ridley sea turtle in the Gulf of Mexico provided valuable information on the
population status and ecology that has contributed to the recovery of this endangered species.
Data from Sea Grant research on critical nursery habitats for red drum in Galveston Bay are used by fishery
managers to more efficiently manage this species and the habitats it utilizes.
Sea Grant advocacy and support led to the creation of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, which
trained 600 instructors and 200 teachers and produced a 50 percent reduction in fishing deaths in Alaska in
the past 10 years.
Sea Grant research on sediment samples in several large Alaska lakes documented historical boom and bust
cycles in sockeye salmon escapement caused by fishing and climate change.
The annual Maine Fishermen's Forum, initiated and organized by a Sea Grant project in 1976, is the largest
educational event of its kind in the nation.
Research sponsored by Sea Grant led to the development and implementation of the Lobster Zone
Management process in Maine, a new paradigm in fisheries management involving 7000 fishermen.
Findings from a study of the genetic makeup of several important Atlantic groundfish species were important
in the development of fishing restrictions to protect the stocks.
Four Sea Grant Programs in the Northeast collaborated to promote and fund $9.3 million in cooperative
research and development projects with commercial fishermen and researchers.
Sea Grant research demonstrated that acoustic pingers reduced harbor porpoise mortality from gillnet
entanglements by 90 percent in the Gulf of Maine.
The Atlantic sea scallop fishery benefited from a wide array of Sea Grant biological, economic, technological
and outreach efforts that led to adjusted fishing regulations, more equitable enforcement and increased
revenue.
Advice by Sea Grant extension staff and researchers led to improved technological efficiency, reduced
mortality of animals and better stock protection in the blue crab fishery in Chesapeake Bay.
Two Sea Grant programs partnered with state and Federal agencies to coordinate a massive research
initiative to address lobster mortalities in Long Island Sound.
Research results and other information provided by many Sea Grant researchers and extension staff afforded
valuable and timely input to regulatory decisions by fishery management bodies.
In close cooperation with commercial fishermen, vessel operating procedures and safety training courses were
developed on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts to control vessel insurance costs and save lives.
Sea Grant published the award-winning "Guide to Marine Mammals & Turtles of the U.S. Atlantic & Gulf of
Mexico," the only existing field guide covering U.S. Atlantic species of whales, dolphins, porpoises,seals,
manatee and sea turtles.
Sea Grant published the 588-page, peer-reviewed "Managing California's Living Marine Resources: A Status
Report" with input from several hundred experts from universities, agencies and the private sector.
Sea Grant worked with municipal authorities to construct artificial reefs from sports stadium rubble in the
nearshore zone of Lake Erie that are estimated to attract 12 to 66 times more fish than surrounding areas
and produce $1 million of annual economic benefit.
Research in the Great Lakes documented the biological pathway for contaminants from zebra mussels to
round gobies to smallmouth bass and to humans, and outreach efforts encouraged catch and release fishing
techniques to avoid human health problems.
Research isolated a specific attractant from horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay for developing an artificial bait
for the eel and conch fisheries to replace the traditional use of horseshoe crabs as bait and thus
reduce fishing pressure on the greatly reduced crab population.
Building the Future on Successes of the Past
Sea Grant will build on its established record
of accomplishment in fisheries of more than 30 years by collaborating
with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, other Federal agencies,
state and regional fisheries agencies and organizations and the
commercial and recreational fishing sectors in identifying the most
pressing fisheries needs in coastal, marine and Great Lakes waters
and in developing a research and outreach agenda aimed at prioritizing
and addressing those needs. Collaborative initiatives to solve critical
problems by merging physical, fiscal and intellectual resources
of the partners will forge cost-effective and credible new information
required for the wise management and promotion of sustainable U.S.
fisheries resources.
For more information:
Robert R. Stickney, Co-Chair
Fisheries Theme Team
Texas Sea Grant College Program
(979) 845-3854
stickney@tamu.edu
Emory D. Anderson, Co-Chair
Fisheries Theme Team
NOAA National Sea Grant Office
(301) 713-2435 ext. 144
emory.anderson@noaa.gov.
Jennifer Greenamoyer
Sea Grant Association
(202) 448-1240
jgreenamoyer@sga.seagrant.org
Fisheries Theme Team
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