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Current fisheries research and future ecosystems science in the Northeast Center: collected abstracts of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Eighth Science Symposium, Atlantic City, New Jersey, February 3-5, 2004. Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. Doc. 04-01 POSTER SESSION
Identification of Pseudocalanus moultoni and Pseudocalanus newmani from the northeast continental shelf	Abstract P-1 POSTER PRESENTATION
Jacquelyn Anderson and Jack Green NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 28 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI  02882-1152
In recent years population levels of the copepod Pseudocalanus have undergone wide fluctuations throughout the northeast continental shelf.  In 2001 abundance levels of Pseudocalanus were nearly an order of magnitude greater than the long term mean throughout the area. These copepods are a major forage organism of larval stages of economically important demersal fishes and understanding the reasons for population fluctuations has significant implications for understanding larval feeding success and growth. What was once identified as a single widely distributed species Pseudocalanus minutus has recently been described as two species with over lapping ranges, P. moultoni and P. newmani.  Currently, it is uncertain if one or both species are undergoing the observed fluctuations in abundance. At present the most reliable method of species identification is through DNA analysis, which is expensive, time consuming, and cannot be performed on the formalin preserved organisms that are routinely collected in plankton samples during ecosystem monitoring surveys.  This study, which has relied on an extensive literature search and intensive microscope work, demonstrates the results of efforts to develop a set of characteristics that will allow routine identification of adults to the species level with a reasonable degree of certainty.
Safer surveys:  a model for developing safer marine mammal aerial surveys	Abstract P-2 POSTER PRESENTATION
Nicole Cabana, LT(jg)/NOAA Corps NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
Safety in marine mammal aerial surveys is an important yet often overlooked issue.  The crash of a survey plane off the coast of Florida in January 2003 in which all four people died brought the issue of safety to the forefront.  There is also a history of other plane crashes involving marine mammal scientists.  After the January accident, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), undertook the task of developing safety standards for all NOAA chartered aircraft.  Aerial safety is a multifaceted issue; safety standards for the aircraft, pilot(s), and scientific crewmembers all need to be considered.  NOAA’s workshops and discussions have resulted in specific requirements for pilot experience and training, scientific crewmember training, and safety equipment to be carried aboard the aircraft and worn by personnel.  This includes mandatory aircraft ditching training and the constant wear of safety vests due to the risks involved with low altitude flight over water.  In addition, NOAA now requires standards similar to FAA Part 135 for aircraft, and has established a safety council to oversee the program and certify acceptable aircraft.  It is hoped that the process developed by NOAA will be of use to others in establishing similar standards.
Evidence of rapid evolution in an estuarine dependent gadid, Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod), in response to environmental contamination with PCBs	Abstract P-3 POSTER PRESENTATION
R. Christopher Chambers1, David Witting1, David Cerino1, and Ike Wirgin2 1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, NJ  07732 2Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, Tuxedo, NY  10987
Little is known about the immediate and long-term toxic effects of PCBs in fish populations in the Hudson River Estuary, New York – a system with high levels of industrial contaminants.  Atlantic tomcod, a common forage fish of estuaries from the Hudson River (HR) to Atlantic Canada, exhibits high tissue burdens of contaminants in populations inhabiting impacted estuaries.  HR tomcod possess much higher levels of PCBs than tomcod examined from other sources.  We used controlled exposure experiments to evaluate whether environmentally relevant congeners and concentrations of PCBs could induce toxic responses in the offspring (F1s) and grand-offspring (F2s) of wild fish, and whether evidence exists for genetically based tolerance to these compounds in populations with a history of exposure.  We concurrently exposed and compared toxic responses in early life-stages of tomcod from a less-contaminated source, the Miramichi River, NB, Canada (MR).  Eggs were exposed to a range of water-borne doses of PCBs (0.01 to 100-fold) that bracketed levels (‘´’) measured previously in livers of adult HR tomcod.  Morphometric, developmental, behavioral, and viability variables constituted the suite of measured responses in eggs and larvae.  Significant source-population effects were evident, as were effects of doses within the MR groups, for all classes of response variables.  MR fish exhibited lower viability, less activity, slower development, and higher levels of abnormalities than HR fish at doses ³ 1 ´.  HR eggs and larvae were largely insensitive to PCBs across the entire range of doses in both the F1 and F2 generations.  Not only is the tolerance exhibited by HR tomcod believed to have arisen recently, likely in the last 100 years, but the high levels of PCBs in tomcod tissues are likely to bioaccumulate in the array of piscivorous fish species that regularly consume tomcod in the Hudson River Estuary.
Hard-substrate reef as a habitat for finfish, preliminary results	Abstract P-4 POSTER PRESENTATION
Paul E. Clark1, Ronald Goldberg1, Catherine Kuropat1, Reneé Mercaldo-Allen1, Jose J. Pereira1 and Lauren M. Vinokur2 1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 212 Rogers Ave., Milford, CT  06460-6490 2Skidmore College, 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Hard-bottom substrates, such as reefs, have been shown to be an important habitat for fishes such as tautog (Tautoga onitis), cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus), and black sea bass (Centropristes striatus).  We investigated spatial and temporal distribution of adult, juvenile, and young-of-the-year fishes on and in proximity to a natural reef near Charles Island in Long Island Sound using traps, trammel nets, gill nets, and hook and line sampling.  Stomach content analyses were performed on all carnivorous fishes sampled. Tautog captured in traps were found to consume mainly calanoid copepods (85.71% frequency of occurrence). The species composition of fishes captured in traps on the reef did not differ significantly from those off the reef, however significantly more recently settled cunner were captured on the reef than off (p<0.025). During the period of peak settlement for cunner, late July through mid-August, a soak-time for the traps of 1-day was determined to be most effective. To investigate the stock enhancement potential of fishes, it is important to understand the habitat requirements of all life stages, as well as the ecology of possible enhancement sites.
Stomach content analysis of northern, Prionotus carolinus (Linnaeus) and striped, Prionotus evolans (Linnaeus) searobins from Long Island Sound	Abstract P-5 POSTER PRESENTATION
Paul E. Clark1, Jose J. Pereira1, and Francis Juanes2 1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 212 Rogers Ave., Milford, CT  06460-6490 2University of Massachusetts, Natural Resources Conservation Department, Amherst MA 01003
Northern and striped searobins are sympatric in Long Island Sound from April through October. Striped searobins have consistently ranked among the most abundant fishes captured as part of the CT DEP Long Island Sound trawl survey. Abundant fish species can potentially impact commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish populations through competition for resources and predation. Searobins were collected for stomach content analysis by various methods (beach seine, otter trawl, gill net, and CT DEP Trawl Survey) throughout the Sound in 1998 and 1999 to investigate prey type and size selectivity, ontogenetic shifts, resource partitioning, food habits, and possible impact on other species. In this study, the 1308 striped and 489 northern searobins sampled, were measured, weighed, sexed, dissected, and the stomachs preserved in formalin. Prey were identified to the lowest taxon possible, and measured, dried to a constant weight at 50 oC, and weighed.  Although the diets of both species were dominated by crustaceans such as Crangon septemspinosa, Cancer irroratus, unidentified Brachyura, and Xanthidae, northern searobins consumed more Gammarus spp., and Amphipoda while striped consumed more Squilla empusa and Ovalipes ocellatus. Northern searobins consumed a significantly smaller number of piscine prey taxa than striped searobins (2 vs.27). Pseudopleuronectes americanus occurred with the greatest frequency among fishes consumed by striped searobins.  Preliminary results from this study suggest that striped searobins consumed a wider variety, larger amounts, and greater size ranges of prey than northern searobins.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishing Communities Project	Abstract P-6 POSTER PRESENTATION
Bonnie J. McCay, Kevin St. Martin, Bryan Oles, Brent Stoffle, Johnelle Lamarque, Katie Broskey, Satsuki Takahashi, and Teresa Johnson Dept. of Human Ecology, Cook College, Rutgers the State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act creates a new requirement in fisheries management planning to take into account the needs of fishing communities, within the framework of conservation objectives. It poses a challenge in determining which communities are ‘fishing communities’ under the act and in developing adequate baseline descriptions of the communities that can be used in federal fisheries management. There are other legal requirements for similar work, which we agreed to do through a CMER grant. We focused on the Mid-Atlantic region, from Montauk, Long Island, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. I will present an overview of the fishing communities of the region and comment upon the changes that are taking place that influence their exposure and vulnerability to changes in the regulatory environment. One of the defining characteristics of fishing communities of the Mid-Atlantic region is that they are typically embedded in communities primarily oriented in other ways, for example tourism or urban-suburban residential development. Many are undergoing ‘gentrification’ processes, which result in changing values and political relations that can pose difficulties for water- and waterfront-dependent enterprises such as commercial and recreational fishing. We argue that this does not diminish their importance as fishing communities under the Magnuson-Stevens Act but rather highlights their increased vulnerability (or decreased resilience) to the short-term effects of environmental and regulatory changes.
Sediment grain size and groundfish assemblage structure in the northeastern continental shelf ecosystem	Abstract P-7 POSTER PRESENTATION
Elizabeth Methratta and Jason Link NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
The relationships between groundfish assemblage structure and benthic habitat characteristics over large spatial scales are not well defined.  GIS methods were used to integrate two synoptic data sets including a high resolution surficial sediment grain size data set compiled by the USGS and a multi-species groundfish biomass data set collected by the NEFSC bottom trawl surveys over the past 40 years.  Multivariate statistical methods were then employed to determine the linkages between groundfish assemblages and the grain size of their benthic substrate in sequential five-year time blocks.  The results of this analysis show that some species consistently dominate all substrate types whereas other species associate with particular ranges of sediment grain size.  With some exceptions, species-habitat associations were generally consistent over the 40-year time interval examined.  This work provides the foundation for planned future studies of vital population rates and habitat linkages for groundfish species in the northeastern continental shelf ecosystem.
Seasonal movement of black sea bass	Abstract P-8 POSTER PRESENTATION
Joshua Moser and Gary Shepherd NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
Black sea bass (Centropristis striata) undergo annual migrations from coastal habitats to offshore shelf waters in autumn, with a return migration during spring months. Our knowledge of migration patterns has been based on seasonal distribution information from NEFSC survey and fishery data; however, little is known about offshore mixing among coastal components of the population. We initiated a black sea bass tagging project to examine seasonal migrations as well as to identify movement patterns during the coastal residency period.  The project has released 9,537 fish over three distinct tagging sessions (September 2002, May 2003 and September 2003); as of 12/31/2003, there were 1,198 recaptures reported by recreational and commercial fishermen from Cape Cod, MA to Cape Hatteras, NC. Comparison of release and recapture location data has led to the demonstration of several migratory patterns along the coast of the North Atlantic. Preliminary data suggests that fish from separate coastal areas mix within relatively small (2˚) latitudinal ranges, but there is not significant mingling between groups over greater distances. In addition to traditional internal anchor tags, we dispersed 117 electronic data storage tags at four locations along the coast, prior to the autumn 2003 offshore migration. Measuring temperature and depth at regular time intervals (15 minutes or greater), they will supply a third dimension to the location information of black sea bass during winter months and help in the determination of their range of depth and temperature preferences while crossing the continental shelf.
Natural spawning of black sea bass, Centropristis striata, at the NMFS Milford Laboratory and the UMASS Dartmouth Laboratory with observations on spawning behavior	Abstract P-9 POSTER PRESENTATION
David A. Nelson1, Dean M. Perry1 and Edward Baker2 1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 212 Rogers Ave., Milford, CT  06460-6490 2136 Beechwood Hill Tr, Exeter, RI 02882
Attempts at spawning black sea bass (1984-2003) have centered on artificial spawning, collecting adult black sea bass in spawning condition and hand stripping both males and females.  Other attempts have focused on inducing ovulation by intramuscular injection of two hormones; human chorionic gonadotropin or luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (LHRHa) and then stripping the fish.  These attempts were all successful to varying degrees, however, induction of natural spawning had not been reported. Milford Laboratory and UMASS Dartmouth Laboratory staff, have used photothermal manipulation to induce natural spawning.  Photothermally manipulated fish have spawned from mid-April to mid-July at the Dartmouth Laboratory and from the end of May until the beginning of July at the Milford Laboratory.  Percent viable embryos have ranged from 0% (first eggs produced) to 100% (middle of the spawning season). Natural spawning of black sea bass removed stress to the fish caused by hand stripping and eliminated the costs and procedures associated with the use and injection of hormones.  The numbers of viable embryos produced were sufficient to support culture activities.  We have also made observations on the spawning behavior of black sea bass in the course of our conditioning procedures and found that one dominant male (alpha) appeared to control spawning activity. Keywords:  black sea bass, spawning, photothermal manipulation
The abundance and distribution of Temora longicornis (Copepoda) within the Northwest Atlantic shelf waters, 1977-2002	Abstract P-10 POSTER PRESENTATION
Jerome Prezioso and Joseph Kane NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 28 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI  02882-1152
Seasonal abundance and distribution of the neritic copepod Temora longicornis were examined within the Northwest Atlantic shelf waters for the years 1977-2002. Studies of its interannual variabilility indicate that the copepod’s abundance has increased significantly during late spring in recent years, while its center of abundance during late spring has shifted northward, becoming substantially more abundant in the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine regions.
Culture and rearing techniques of scyphozoans and hydrozoans (jellies) in public aquaria for exhibit display	Abstract P-11 POSTER PRESENTATION
Brandon Schmidt NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
To properly exhibit the delicate medusae of scyphozoans and hydrozoans in aquaria requires culturing and rearing a constant supply of animals due to the excessive costs associated with their collection and the ephemeral nature of their lifespan.  This poster summarizes the techniques of propagation which include initial collection of wild stock, proper transport of specimens, the establishment of new cultures, collecting and handling larval planulae and polypoid phases, manipulating polyps to strobilate, and then the final process of rearing ephyrae to the adult medusae stage for exhibit.
Sectioning otoliths in the 21st century: increased efficiency through the use of new technology	Abstract P-12 POSTER PRESENTATION
Nina Shepherd, Sandra J. Sutherland, Sarah Pregracke, Daphne Cassidy, Christine Esteves, Blanche Jackson, Elizabeth O’Neill, and John Burnett NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
The Fishery Biology Program at the Woods Hole laboratory has recently acquired an Otolith Sectioning (OS) System from Benetec Ltd.  This is the first machine of its kind to be used in North America, and only the eighth in the world.  This new system will replace the methodology that has been used to section otoliths in this lab for over 40 years.  Our previous technique had been to embed a single otolith in paraffin wax on a cardboard tag, and then thin-section it using an Isomet low-speed saw with two closely spaced diamond-impregnated blades.  Each section was then removed from the wax and returned to an individual envelope. With the new OS System, however, otoliths are embedded in polyester resin in aluminum molds.  Four to eight otoliths are aligned in each row, with six rows per mold.  The blocks of resin are then cut using a high-speed saw with one thin metal-bonded diamond blade.  Two cuts are made for each row of otoliths, yielding a thin strip of resin in which the sections are embedded.  These six strips are then glued onto a Plexiglas slide.  Because this system allows up to 48 otoliths to be sectioned at once, it greatly increases efficiency.  It takes less than 30 minutes to cut one block of otoliths.  Also, by mounting the sections on Plexiglas slides, it makes much easier for the age reader by eliminating the need to pull each individual section out of an envelope.  It is hoped that this machine will also reduce breakage of otolith sections, and eliminate the need for fine-tuning the thickness of the cuts.  A study was undertaken to determine if sections obtained from the new methodology generated ages comparable to those using prior methods.  One age reader viewed both otoliths from 198 haddock and obtained 90.4% agreement, with an overall coefficient of variation of 2.14%.  This high precision level between the two sectioning methods indicates that the OS System yields ages similar to those obtained from the standard method.
Spawning duration and frequency of weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, near the northern margin of its geographic range based on the size and age structure of young-of-the-year	Abstract P-13 POSTER PRESENTATION
Donald D. Shrump Jr. and R. Christopher Chambers NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, NJ  07732
Weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, is a key member of the commercially and recreationally important species of the Mid-Atlantic Bight that inhabits inland waters during its larval and juvenile life-stages.  Most studies on the timing of weakfish reproduction have used gonadal analysis and have focused on populations to the south of the Hudson River.  Some studies have inferred the frequency of weakfish spawning from length distributions of young-of-the-year (YOY) juveniles, but this method is imprecise due to the variations in growth rate of YOY.  This study utilizes sizes and otolith-based ages of YOY weakfish to evaluate the frequency and duration of spawning.  YOY weakfish were collected from the Hudson River by trawling during monthly surveys from April through October of 2001 and 2002 (surveys were not conducted in May or September).  YOY were collected by 5-min trawl tows at up to 10 stations, from the Battery to Newburgh, New York.  YOY weakfish were abundant in our July, August, and October surveys in both years and each monthly length-frequency distribution was unimodal.  In 2002, however, YOY weakfish were collected as early as June.  Analysis of the otolith-based hatch-date distribution of YOY weakfish from 2002 suggests some early spawning in April with the median hatch-date in late June.  We also estimated hatch-date distributions of YOY for both year-classes based on size-at-collection and estimates of year-specific growth rates.  This size-based reconstruction of the hatch-dates also suggested an earlier initiation of spawning in 2002 than in 2001.  The interannual variability in the timing of spawning that we observed may be due to variations in environmental factors and/or variation in the demographic composition and condition of the mature females.
Age-structure reference collections: the importance of being earnest	Abstract P-14 POSTER PRESENTATION
Vaughn Silva, Nancy Munroe, Sarah E. Pregracke, and John Burnett NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543-1026
After decades of relying on the “two-reader” system for Quality Assurance/Quality Control in production aging, the Fishery Biology Program (a.k.a. Age and Growth Unit) is in the process of implementing age-structure reference collections to ensure the accuracy and precision of the age data generated by the group.  Diminishing staff, coupled with the increasing number of analytical age-based stock assessments, has spelled doom for the luxury of having two age readers for each species.  Moreover, calibration of age readers against reference collections provides a superior measure of age-reader error than agreement levels between two readers.  Reference collections also provide an ideal training platform for the orientation of new age readers, an important consideration for a group facing numerous retirements in the near future. The development of a reference collection requires the comprehensive selection of age structure samples from representative stock areas, sizes, sexes, seasons, habitats, and sampling sources/fisheries for each species.  Ideally, samples should be from known-age fish, such as those provided by tag/recapture or age validation studies, but these are hard to obtain.  For most species, reference collection samples are consensus-aged fish obtained from age structure exchanges and/or workshops in cooperation with other aging laboratories.  Reference collections need to be dynamic, regularly incorporating new samples to reflect changing stock conditions and to prevent age-reader memorization of the collection. Currently, the Fishery Biology Program has viable reference collections of 400+ fish for cod and haddock, with those for yellowtail flounder, scup, Atlantic herring, winter flounder, and summer flounder nearing completion.  For cod and haddock, age readers will be given 100 randomly selected digital images for aging and annotation. When desired species-specific levels of precision are achieved from this exercise, the reader is cleared for production aging.  This drill will be repeated at the conclusion of production aging, and aging-error statistics will be made available for the stock assessment process.
Communal effects between Argopecten irradians irradians and Nassarius obsoletus	Abstract P-15 POSTER PRESENTATION
David J. Veilleux and Katlyn Mihalek NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 212 Rogers Ave., Milford, CT  06460-6490
Groups of bay scallops, Argopecten irradians irradians, and mud dog whelks, Nassarius obsoletus, were placed in pearl nets to test if the presence of the snails would control biofouling and reduce sedimentation within the suspended culture gear.  The nets were hung for thirty-three days in order to attain settlement of the fouling communities and the level of sediments common to aquaculture gear. We compared survival and growth of scallops in treatments (n=2) with and without the presence of snails.  The wet weights and shell heights were measured for all animals at the start and finish of the experiment.  Scallop wet weight averaged 32 g greater in treatments containing snails compared to those without snails. This increase in weight may be attributed to the snail’s ability to clear the mesh of fouling, and therefore increasing water flow rates to the scallops.  The results from this trial suggest that this simple low-cost approach may improve aquaculture productivity.
PCB bioaccumulation trends and ecosystem stress responses in young-of-the-year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)	Abstract P-16 POSTER PRESENTATION
Shayla D Williams and Ashok D. Deshpande NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, NJ  07732
The early life stages of fish are sensitive to habitat degradation.  The poor condition of fish in the early life stages could eventually result in adverse effects in the adult population.  We will look at contaminant bioaccumulation, such as PCBs, and the potential adverse effect of habitat quality on the condition of young-of-the-year (YOY) bluefish in the Hudson River Estuary.  The overall goal of this dissertation research is to document PCB trends over a two-year period and to investigate the cellular and physiochemical ecosystem stress responses that may be related to xenobiotic contamination or poor habitat quality.  Biomarker induction of emigrating YOY bluefish will be used as an indicator of contaminant exposure and cumulative ecosystem stress.  We will examine three variables: CYP1A, vitellogenin, and DNA adducts.  Second, we will document condition factor, length-weight regression, and lipid classes as physiochemical indicators of habitat quality of the Hudson River Estuary. This project is part of an effort at the NMFS-Sandy Hook Laboratory to assess ecosystem stress responses of YOY bluefish from different nursery estuaries with varying levels of contamination.  The results of these combined studies would allow us to compare and contrast the effects of the Hudson River’s habitat quality on juvenile bluefish with bluefish utilizing other estuarine ecosystems as nursery habitats.  Since cellular and physiochemical-level stresses could be correlated with alterations in such behavior as reproduction and predation at the organism level, the results of this study may have implications on the bluefish population and community level.