Dynamics to Inform Management Policy of the Recreational Summer - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Providing Data on Discards and Fishery Dynamics to Inform Management Policy of the Recreational Summer Flounder Fishery in Raritan Bay

Project PI: Douglas Zemeckis Student Intern: Massimo DiSanto Collaborators: Eleanor Bochenek, Jason Morson, Steven X. Cadrin, Jeff Kneebone, Jeff Dement, Daphne Munroe, and Peter Clarke

New Jersey’s Fisheries

• Total economic impacts of the NJ

recreational fishing industry was estimated at $1.2 billion in 2015 (NOAA, 2016).

• Approximately 1 million total

anglers taking 4-7 million trips annually.

• Most common: summer

flounder, black sea bass, bluefish, striped bass, tautog.

NJDEP

Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus)

https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/fldrs/summer/

Terceiro (2016)

Morson et al. (2017)

Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus)

• NJ’s recreational fishery (2006-2015): 0.5 -1.5 million fish landed

annually, while 4-10 million fish are discarded annually.

• 10% discard mortality rate currently assumed.

Angler Survey

• Additional data on angler fishing practices and behaviors was

needed to better understand fishery dynamics, inform management, to develop extension education materials, and to guide future research.

• An angler survey (n=28 questions)

was distributed using Qualtrics focusing on:

– Fishing experience – Locations fished – Tackle types used – Capture and handling practices

Angler Survey

• A total of 299 anglers from throughout NJ completed the
• nline survey.

– The survey did a great job at reaching experienced private boat anglers (70% of respondents).

50 100 150 200 250 Bait Rig Jig Rig

Number of Respondents Terminal Tackle Rig

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Number of Respondents Size of Hooks

Sex Ratios

• A non-invasive method for externally identifying the sex of

summer flounder would be valuable for fishery monitoring and future tagging studies.

• Three potential approaches were

tested during sampling of commercial landings:

– Location of genital pore – Cannulation – Morphometrics

Photo Credit: Mark Wuenschel (NOAA)

Male Female

• Most variation is sized based (PC1)
• No strong differences in body shape (PC2)

Acknowledgements

• Research funding was provided by the Rutgers Raritan River

Consortium’s Mini-Grant/Internship Pool.

• Thanks to all of the recreational anglers who completed the

fishing tackle and behavior survey.

• Thanks to the collaborating commercial fishing and seafood

companies who assisted with summer flounder sampling:

– Belford Seafood Cooperative – Fisherman’s Dock Cooperative – Sally’s Seafood – Trinity Seafood