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Recruitment Surveys Program

Our Research

The Recruitment Surveys Program has been researching fish populations in the Chesapeake Bay at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) since 1955. The Program comprises three long-term, government-mandated monitoring surveys: the Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey (since 1955), the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey (since 1967), and the American Eel Survey (since 2000). Each survey is designed to catch juvenile fishes,  providing data that capture population trends. These data are then used by management agencies, VIMS scientists and students, researchers at other institutions, and special interest groups.

Program scientists also conduct interdisciplinary research, collaborating with fish physiologists, physical oceanographers, geneticists, conservationists, and various stakeholder groups.

What is "recruitment"?

The term "recruitment" refers to the number of young fish produced each year. Recruitment numbers of fish give fisheries managers an idea of what future harvestable populations might look like, an important factor to consider when building management plans.

Our Team

Mary Fabrizio

Professor Emerita

Troy Tuckey

Troy Tuckey

Principle Investigator, Senior Research Scientist

Jack Buchanan

Marine Scientist II

Wendy Lowery

Marine Scientist I

Samantha Dowiarz

Research Specialist II

Katherine Nickerson

Laboratory Specialist I

Aimee Comer

Laboratory and Research Specialist I

Anna DeMotte smiles at the camera

Anna DeMotte

Research Specialist I

Conner Benson

Graduate Student, M.S.

Booby Welsh

Bobby Welsh

Undergraduate Student Research Assistant

Our Research Projects

Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey
Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey
American Eel Recruitment Survey

Research Projects

Nepal Water Initiative
Sonar Cameras and Habitat Restoration
Student Research

Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey

The Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey has been monitoring fish species in the Chesapeake Bay estuary since 1955. Data collected is used to track trends in seasonal distribution and abundance of fishes, developing indices of abundance which are used by fishery managers and researchers to create fishery management plans.

Learn More About the Trawl Survey

Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey

The Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey began monitoring annual recruitment success of juvenile Striped Bass populations in the Chesapeake Bay estuary in 1967, and has been sampling yearly since 1980. The survey generates the second-longest continuous Striped Bass index of abundance in the United States, coordinated on the east coast by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The VIMS index provides important data for ASMFC management regulations.

Learn More About the Seine Survey

American Eel Monitoring Program

The American Eel Monitoring Program has been monitoring the migration of young-of-year American Eels into Virginia's estuaries and freshwater tributaries since 2000. Data collected is used to track coast-wide populations and provide information to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eels.

Learn More About the Eel Survey
Scientists wade through water, using electrofishing equipment to catch fish in Nepal

Nepal Water Initiative

We are contributing to a large-scale, interdisciplinary research effort to develop water resource management strategies in Nepal. Our work involves surveying aquatic resources and training the next generation of Nepalese scientists on field methods.

Learn About the Nepal Water Initiative
A screenshot of video feed from an underwater sonar camera

Sonar Cameras and Habitat Restoration

Using ARIS underwater sonar cameras, we are collaborating with VIMS fisheries genetics researchers and VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory researchers to capture a "before and after" view of fish recruitment in an Eastern Shore bay after habitat restoration with scallops and seagrass.

Juvenile Striped Bass being processed for data collection

Student Research

Through our data-rich surveys, we are primed to support undergraduate and graduate student research here at William & Mary. We also share our data with students at other research institutions, reinforcing VIMS and William & Mary's impact and national preeminence in marine research.

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