James Gartland

Education

• B.S., University of Miami, 1999
• M.S., College of William and Mary, 2002

Research Interests

My primary interest is in the development and execution of fishery-independent monitoring surveys so as to maximize the utility of these programs in the stock assessment and fishery management processes. Because a myriad of variables besides abundance influence survey catch data, one of my goals has been to try to identify these sources of variability, quantify their effect on the resulting data and assessment models, and mitigate their influence where possible. These efforts are meant to tighten the relationship between population abundance and survey catch data.  Further, in order to supply traditional single-species stock assessments and future multispecies assessments with requisite data, I have focused on developing production ageing protocols and quantifying trophic interactions for species of management interest through the use of survey-collected biological samples. 

Current Projects

• Data collection and analysis in support of single and multispecies stock assessments in the mid-Atlantic & Southern New England: Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program Near Shore Trawl Survey, NEAMAP.  Funded by Mid Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, Research Set-Aside Program & Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, Southern New England Collaborative Research Initiative.
• Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program.  Funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission. 
• VIMS Shark Research Program.  Funded by NOAA/NMFS.
• Mapping and Characterizing Fish Habitat in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds.  Funded by Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, Southern New England Collaborative Research Initiative.

• Establishment of an Ageing Center in Support of Fishery-Dependent Sampling in the Mid-Atlantic Bight & Southern New England.  Funded by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Publications

• Malek, A.J., J.S. Collie, and J Gartland.  In Press.  Fine-scale spatial patterns in the demersal fish and invertebrate community in a northwest Atlantic ecosystem.  Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 
• Buchheister, A, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2013. Patterns and drivers of the demersal fish community of Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecological Progress Series 481:161-180.
• Latour, R.J., D.T. Gauthier, J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, K.A. McNamee, and W.K. Vogelbein. 2012. Impacts of mycobacteriosis on the growth dynamics of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69:247-258.
• Schloesser, R.W., M.C. Fabrizio, R.J. Latour, G.C. Garman, G. Greenlee, M. Groves, and J. Gartland. ‘Ecological role of blue catfish in Chesapeake Bay communities and implications for management.’In Conservation, Ecology, and Management of Catfish: The Second International Symposium. Ed. P. Michaletz. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society. 2011.
• Uphoff, J. J. Jacobs, J. Gartland, and R. Latour. ‘Forage and predation.’ In Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management for Chesapeake Bay: Striped Bass Species Team Background and Issue Briefs. Ed. J. Uphoff. College Park, MD: Maryland Sea Grant. 2009.
• Gauthier, D.T., R.J. Latour, D.M. Heisey, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, E.J. Burge, and W.K. Vogelbein. 2008. Mycobacteriosis associated mortality in wild striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Ecological Applications 18:1718-1727.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, and R.A. Johnson. 2008. The trophic dynamics of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in Chesapeake Bay. Fishery Bulletin 106:47-57.
• Gartland, J., R.J. Latour, A.D. Halvorson, and H.M. Austin. 2006. Diet composition of young-­of-­the-­year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) in the lower Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean of Virginia. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135:371-­378.

Collaborative / Interdisciplinary Efforts

• Chair, ASMFC NEAMAP Operations Committee
• Chair, ASMFC Management and Science Committee
• Member, ASMFC Fishing Gear Technology Working Group
• Member, ASMFC Bluefish Technical Committee
• Member – Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Bluefish Monitoring CommitteeMember, Mid-Atlantic/New England Fishery Management Council Trawl Survey Advisory Panel
• Member, Mid-Atlantic/New England Fishery Management Council Trawl Survey Advisory Panel
• Member, ASMFC Subcommittee on Risk & Uncertainty in Stock Assessments       

Awards

• ASMFC Annual Award of Excellence - 2013

• Outstanding Classified Employee Award, Research/Advisory Service – Virginia Institute of Marine Science - 2009