VIMS

ChesMMAP

Uses of Data Generated by the Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program (ChesMMAP) Trawl Survey, 2007-2013

Assessment Related (NMFS & ASMFC)

Data requested for and incorporated into past assessments

Atlantic Menhaden – Predator diet data for inclusion in Multispecies VPA

Atlantic Sturgeon – Abundance data for ESA listing and subsequent re-evaluation

Black Sea Bass – Abundance, distribution, & age

Scup – Abundance, distribution, & age

Summer Flounder – Abundance, distribution, & age (possible that additional parameters were included, but the full assessment report is not available yet)

Weakfish – Abundance, distribution, & age

Data requested and evaluated for but not incorporated* into an assessment
*Due to short time series of data & relatively low catches available, NOT because of data quality.

Black Drum – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, & age

Bluefish – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, & age

Butterfish – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, & age

River Herring (Alewife & Blueback) – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, & maturity

Striped Bass – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, diet, & age

Data requested for an assessment & results currently pending

Atlantic Croaker – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, & age

Spot – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, maturity, & age

Tautog – Abundance, distribution, length, sex, & maturity

Virginia-Specific


Sheepshead – Data provided to Marine Resources Commission for review of harvest regulations

Summer Flounder – Setting of conservation equivalency measures

Additional Research Efforts

Atlantic croaker, black drum, kingfish, & spot - population genetics with South Carolina DNR

Atlantic croaker & spot - ageing exchange with ASMFC partners

Atlantic croaker, striped bass, & weakfish - collaboration with the VIMS Juvenile Fish and Blue Crab Trawl Survey to explore the relationships between recruitment indices and adult abundance

Atlantic croaker & white perch - quantified capture efficiency of the survey trawl for these two species, which both established necessary protocols for such work and facilitates the estimation of absolute abundance for these species

Black sea bass - hard part (scale/otolith) comparison for ageing

Blue crab – collaboration with Conservation Biology division at VIMS to conduct a bay-wide tagging program meant to evaluate the effectiveness of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab spawning stock sanctuary

Bluefish, striped bass, summer flounder, & weakfish – development of consumption estimates for these top piscivores in Chesapeake Bay

Coastal sharks & Atlantic sturgeon - tagging studies in collaboration with NMFS.

Scup - hard part (scale/otolith) comparison for ageing

Summer flounder – supported sampling to quantify first year growth and habitat preferences.

Summer flounder – hard part (scale/otolith) comparison for ageing (ongoing)

Summer flounder – provided biological data to support yield-per-recruit/egg-per-recruit analyses to examine various regulatory scenarios for the recreational fishery (with ASMFC)

Summer flounder – investigation of trophic dynamics which resulted in this species being classified as one of the top piscivores in the Chesapeake ecosystem

Tautog - population genetics with Virginia Marine Resources Commission (ongoing)

Striped bass - sampling to identify prevalence and severity of Mycobacterium infection in the coastal migratory population; showed infection contributed both to reductions in growth rates and to increases in natural mortality rates

• Sampled livers of multiple species for contaminant analysis in collaboration with Clemson University

• Expanded sampling into tributaries of Chesapeake Bay to sample fishes for contaminant analysis as part of the National Coastal Assessment effort (collaboration with the EPA)

• Collected voucher specimens of multiple species in collaboration with Smithsonian to establish a genetic library of fishes in the Chesapeake Bay

• Provided data on multiple species to support the development of an ecosystem model for the Chesapeake Bay

• Completed an analysis of 10 years of ChesMMAP data to identify patterns and drivers of the demersal fish community in Chesapeake Bay

• Began testing of a 200 x 12cm, three-bridle, four-seam survey trawl for use by ChesMMAP. This net is more efficient than the current gear and is more comparable to the trawls used by NEAMAP along the coast and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center offshore. Specifically, this “200x12cm” net is identical in design, but half of the size of, the nets used by those ocean surveys.

• Received over 200 visits to our online catch and diet databases since initialized in early 2012