ankle bracelets for fish.. knowing who is coming and going… developing an acoustic fish “gate”...
TRANSCRIPT
Ankle bracelets for fish.. knowing who is coming and going…
Developing an acoustic fish “gate” for the Chester River.
Hassan Moustahfid, PhD.
U.S. IOOSThe BEST of the Chester Apr. 17-19, 2012
Outline• Early Tagging Studies in Chester River• Present studies DNR- Perch etc. Spawning and
Nursery grounds. • What new in Fish Tagging/Telemetry (Electronic Tags,
Acoustic and Satellite etc.)• Chester river • What? potential fish to tag• Where? Potential Acoustic Telemetry Array placement • Why? Example of questions to answer• Couple optimal design for different needs
Mansueti, 1960 in Chesapeake Science Vol. 1 Comparison of the Movements of Stocked and Resident Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens, in Tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Mark –recapture techniqueFew returned fish
Early Fish Tagging Work
Conventional Tagging
A total of 1495 yellow perch were tagged and released
Fisherman interest in the spawning run of yellow perch in Maryland’s upper Chesapeake waters, Maryland DNR implemented a pilot study in spring 2008. The objective: investigate movements of yellow perch during the spawning period.Technique used Mark-Recapture- Fish were tagged with t-bar anchor tags. Fishermen where rewarded if they get back the tags.
Fish Tagging Work
DNR Fisheries Service 2008 Yellow Perch Tagging (mark-recapture) study,
RESULTS: Of the 1495 fish tagged, 27 tag returned. Conclusion: The success of conventional tagging study is very closely related to fishermen cooperation,
Electronic TaggingAcoustic Telemetry Technology
What’s available?–VEMCO, LOTEK, HTI, etc.–Passive arrays, manual equipment, combinations
B. Meloy
Even Clupeid species such as Herring, Shad can be tagged with acoustic tags.
OTN
10Source Tag A Giant Program
11
Fabrizio et al. 2005. NOAA tech memo,
POST array
Courtesy Dr.John Payne (POST)
The waters of the Chester are spawning and nursery areas for many fish species:
Alewife, shad, blueback, perch, Blue Crab.
Striped bass=Rockfish is the most prized anadromous (freshwater spawning) fish found in the Chester. Perfect place to establish an acoustic array, Depth Max: 50-60 mMouth Love point and Eastern Neck: ~2 miles
Chester River Acoustic Array Design Ideas
Bathymetry of the lower Chester River. Note that the mouth of the Chester River is shallower than the vicinity of fixed monitoring station ET4.2. Source: EPA Chesapeake Bay Program. 2010.
•Help fisheries managers understand more about the fish species and their populations. •Identification of sensitive “hot spot” areas, high value•Ecosystems and ecosystem benefits created by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).•Monitor and mitigate the impacts of management strategies including protected areas and fisheries regulations.•Define essential fish habitat (EFH)•Establish baseline habitat usage studies on potential sites of future anthropogenic disturbance (e.g aquaculture sites)•Improve stock assessments: provide spatial and temporal refinement of natural mortality , harvest susceptibility and survival rates•Animal Telemetry can reveal how environmental factors drives animal distributions in nutrient enriched estuaries and coastal areas, to better understand the impact of the large low-oxygen zones •Provide the scientific basis for ecosystem-based management (EBM).•Recreational Fisherman interest in the spawning run
Why do we tag fish?
Education and outreach:
• From recreational fishers to conservationists animals offer a unique opportunity to catch the attention of the public and educate them about the value and importance of ocean observation.
• Popular and useful educational products have been created for grades K-12 with telemetry and tracking data.
Example of a Typical Receiver Layout for a River Migration Study
Or Bay
Source Vemco
Candidate species PerchStriped Bass= Rockfish Alewife Shad BluebackBlue Crab
Again the design will depend on the Research Priorities
Chester River Acoustic Telemetry Array
