Fisheries Theme Team
Sea Grant Fisheries Priorities

The following is a sampling of Sea Grant fisheries science priorities developed by the Fisheries Theme Team. Captive aquaculture and some habitat priorities have not been included as they are subjects being addressed by other theme teams. In some instances, the priorities were drawn from lists of funded fisheries projects that have not terminated as of March, 2000. This listing is based upon examination of input submitted by the various Sea Grant programs. Comments on the accuracy of the assessment of information obtained is welcomed. [Note: some programs did not respond, or responded only with priorities that fit better within the activities of another theme team.]

Florida

• Determine production and management techniques that make Florida’s fisheries sustainable and competitive (includes social and economic impacts on fishery management strategies, minimization of bycatch and enhancement of wild stocks).

Georgia

• Develop critical data for assessment of fisheries and essential fish habitat.
• Better manage juvenile stages of fisheries.

Illinois/Indiana

• Determine the effects of invasive aquatic species on highly valued fishes.
• Determine the effects of altered benthic communities on fishes.
• Examine mechanisms that drive fish recruitment.
• Understand how abiotic/physical factors structure fish communities.

Louisiana

• Recruitment mechanisms for estuarine-dependent fish and shellfish.
• Functional fisheries habitat value of artificial habitat
• Stock discrimination of coastal pelagic and estuarine-dependent fish species.

Maine/New Hampshire.

• Develop predictive models and tools that will aid in the management of complex, multi-species fisheries.
• Develop and aid the adoption of harvesting techniques that increase quality, reduce by-catch of non-targeted species, and increase fishermen safety.
• Assess the feasibility and potential impacts of large-scale natural stock enhancement efforts.
• Help minimize the social and economic impacts on fishing communities and families caused by the current fisheries drisis, and create viable future fisheries by identifying sustainable harvest practices, policies, and appropriate social and economic infrastructures.
• Ensure that all stakeholders participate more fully and effectively in the management and policy process by developing mechanisms to reduce user conflict for the mutual benefit of the resource and stakeholders.

Massachusetts

• Bridge the fisheries knowledge gap between fishermen and scientists by encouraging cooperative research involving fishermen and their vessels.
• Develop improved methods of stock assessment using new sensors and sampling methods.
• Develop methods of collecting and telemetering data gathered aboard commercial fishing vessels to facilitate their use in fisheries research, industry-based surveys, and study fleets.
• Identify ways of reducing the habitat impacts of trawls and dredges.
• Determine the social costs of fisheries management plans and develop methods of predicting industry response to regulatory changes.
• Determine the role of rotational area management in improving the productivity of sea scallops and other marine species.
• Develop methods to improve fisheries management by incorporating real-time data, GIS-based data management, and web-based data presentation.

Michigan

• Understand and manage variation in the Lake Michigan salmonid fishery
• Develop and communicate improved methods of fish stock assessment.

Mississippi/Alabama

• Assessing impacts of restocking and artificial reefs for sustainable economic development of capture fisheries.

New Jersey

• Assess the role of habitat in the recruitment success of early life stages
• Improve the quality and quantity of population dynamics and production data
• Develop advanced technology to best assess the role of habitat in recruitment and production of marine species on the inner continental shelf
• Evaluate the role of restored ecosystems in fishery production

North Carolina

• Develop information and mechanisms for analyses leading to comprehensive fishery management plans for various species.
• Understand the relationships among short- and long-term climate and oceanic changes and fisheries recruitment and production.
• Develop methodologies to quantify the success or failure of management actions with regard to changes in fish stocks or habitats.
• Determine the impacts of trawls and other harvesting gear on the substrate and its resident organisms.
• Improve understanding of the different types of mortality on the population level.
• Develop and test survey methods to obtain reliable information on participation, gear use, attitude and socio-economic data for fisheries management plans.
• Develop techniques to assist traditional fisheries communities in accommodating changes in the industry.
• Introduce new technology to the fishing industry to reduce by-catch, increase harvest efficiency and improve catch selectivity.

Oregon

• Improve the models on which management is based through research on the life cycles of important species and on habitat utilization.
• Search for new, innovative, and effective approaches to fishery management, such as comanagement, and assist industry leaders and managers in understanding the benefits and limitations of such approaches.
• Incorporate economics into biological models that traditionally have been the basis for fisheries management.
• Improve communications and decrease fragmentation within the fishing community, particulary between gear types and between the industry and agencies.

Rhode Island

• Develop better biological, physical and socioeconomic tools to manage multiple-use conflicts, scale back capitalization of the commercial fishing industry, and reduce fishing gear impacts on habitat.
• Develop innovative fishing methods and gear based on improved understanding of the behavior of marine species in order to reduce bycatch.
• Develop better stock assessment tools for existing fisheries and developing pelagic fisheries.
• Assess the ecological and economic feasibility of wild stock enhancement techniques.
• Develop programs to support the recreational fishing industry and educate recreational fishermen.

Texas

• Assess recruitment of larval and juvenile marine organisms to nursery grounds, larval transport, and mortality.
• Investigate the impacts of stock enhancement in terms of modification of the natural ecosystem.

Virginia

• Identify the physical and biotic processes that control blue crab larval recruitment and juvenile dynamics.
• Determine how physical and biogeochemical processes impact living resources and water quality in Chesapeake Bay.
• Develop new types of fishing gear.
• Conduct research to reduce bycatch.