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News From Member Institutions
Site Reports
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
24 April 2008
Rep: John Annala
Faculty Updates John Annala was appointed to the Science and Statistical Committee of the New England Fisheries Management Council. John was also appointed as a science advisor to the Gulf of Maine
Council on the Marine Environment, representing RARGOM, and attended a Council integration meeting in Halifax in March.
Steve Eayrs is currently in Iran convening a workshop on by-catch reduction in trawl fisheries under the auspices of FAO.
Dan Holland had just returned from a workshop in Costa Rica looking at using property rights incentives to bring about improved fisheries management outcomes. Dan is also very heavily involved in the New England
Fisheries Management Council Groundfish Plan Development Team’s efforts to implement fisheries sectors in New England fisheries.
Jonathan Grabowski and Graham Sherwood are in the process of reviewing PhD candidates to investigate cod-herring-lobster trophic interactions. Jonathan was appointed to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission Lobster FMP Habitat Subcommittee in February 2008.
Jason Stockwell was invited to be a member of the New England Fisheries Management Council’s Herring Plan Development team. He was also invited to participate as a Steering Committee Member for Sea Grant funded
workshop series “Investigation of Nearshore Migration of Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Maine Region”. Jason was selected for the National Conservation Leadership Institute’s (NCLI) Fellows Program and participated
in an 11-day residency at the National Conservation Training Center in November with a follow up residency in April. The purpose of NCLI’s Fellows Program is to build the capacity to lead among the new world of
conservation issues that are broader and more complex than any in the past.
Shelly Tallack has continued to analyze and prepare the data from the Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program data for inclusion in the upcoming Groundfish Assessment Review Workshop (GARM), scheduled for August
2008; presentation of this data and preparation of technical reports for the preceding pre-GARM workshops has been undertaken. Additional research undertaken to assess bycatch reduction options for spiny dogfish
has received considerable attention, particularly in recent months and thus, presentation of these findings has also been frequent.
New Position(s) open The search continues for a population dynamicist.
Events and Happenings GMRI has successfully implemented a Thursday evening public lecture series that brings in outside lecturers on key topics facing marine resource management in New England.
New Research Activities / Highlights
GMRI had the following research projects funded between April and November 2007:
Effects of fishing on herring aggregations
Evaluating the discard of monkfish caught as bycatch in the Northeast multi-species fishery and on directed monkfish trips
Mapping juvenile cod habitat on Cashes Ledge to evaluate groundfishing closures
Monkfish archival tagging - otolith study
A contemporary assessment of the bycatch of regulated species and the Nordmore grate in the Northern Shrimp Fishery
Analysis of herring diet in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine: a step toward assessment of bottom up ecosystem influences on Atlantic herring distribution and condition in coastal waters of the Gulf of
Maine
A contemporary assessment of the bycatch of regulated species and the Nordmore grate in the Northern Shrimp Fishery
Analysis of herring diet in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine: a step toward assessment of bottom up ecosystem influences on Atlantic herring distribution and condition in coastal waters of the Gulf of
Maine
Other News
Summer 2008 internship program – GMRI is recruiting 4-6 interns for its summer internship program, made possible with the generous support of the Libra Foundation.
4 December 2007
Rep: John Annala
New Faculty Hired Dr Jason Stockwell, formerly of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center in Ashland, WI, joined the GMRI staff as the pelagic ecologist in
October 2007.
New Position(s) open The search continues for a population dynamicist.
Events and Happenings GGMRI successfully co-hosted, with the University of Maine Center for Law and Innovation and the University of Southern Maine, two
workshops each of two days in duration on:
• “Climate Change in the Northwest Atlantic” in April, 2007
• “Technical assistance for fisheries sectors” in November, 2007
New Research Activities / Highlights
GMRI had the following research projects funded between April and November 2007:
• Direct and indirect coupling of fisheries through economic, regulatory, environmental and ecological linkages
• The benefits and risks of increased spatial management of New England groundfish stocks
• Technical services for development of sectors (harvest cooperatives) for New England fisheries
• Continuation of the Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program
27 June 2007
Rep: John Annala
Faculty UpdatesGMRI has now hired 8 out of its initial start-up team of 9 research scientists
New Faculty Hired Dr. Jason Stockwell has been appointed to the position of pelagic fisheries ecologist at GMRI. Jason i scurrently director and
scientist at the USGS Field station in Ashland, WI.
New Position(s) open GMRI is recruiting to fill the position of population dynamics modeler..
Events and Happenings GMRI successfully hosted the ICES symposium “Fishing Technology in the 21st Century: Integrating Fishing and Ecosystem
Conservation” in Oct/Nov 2006
Grad Announcements GMRI is running a summer intern program for marine science undergrad students funded by seed money from the Libra Foundation. The
program began in the summer of 2006 and has grown from
2 interns last year to 6 interns in 2007.
Events and Happenigns GMRI is host of the National Marine Educators Association annual meeting being held in Portland July 23-27.
Lecture Series - GMRI has been running a public evening Lecture Series since spring of 2007. The series has featured marine scientists from all over New England
talking on their favorite topics. The series has been a great success
with standing room only and great feedback. We are busy trying to schedule the August – November speakers and will be sending out a mailing in a few weeks.
FishTank - A series of monthly discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including commercial, recreational, charter fishermen, environmental interests, etc.
The meetings are held outside of the regulatory process and allow free
and frank discussion of contentious research and management issues that often lead to ideas for further research. Thus far, series of meetings have been held
on:
• Groundfish
• Lobsters
• Herring
New Research Activities / Highlights
GMRI has about 40 active research projects during 2007. The projects cover a large number of species and topic areas including:
• Cod, haddock, and monkfish tagging and migration
• Impacts of closed areas on fish populations
• Herring and monkfish diets
• Reduction in bycatch in herring midwater trawl and scallop dredge fisheries
• Discard mortality of dogfish and red crabs
• Herring acoustic surveys
• Monkfish and pollock gillnet selectivity
• Development of fisheries sectors
• Bio-economic modelling of various fisheries
• Influence of oceanographic factors on various life history stages of fish, zooplankton, and Right Whales
GMRI has just received notification of funding from the NSF Coupled and Natural Human systems program for a 5 year multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional project
investigating the ecological, economic, and fishery linkages between
cod, herring, and lobsters.
April 2007
Rep: John Annala
Faculty UpdatesNew Faculty Hired – Steve Eayrs, formerly of the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, Tasmania, joined the GMRI staff as the fish
behaviorist/gear technologist in January 2007.
New Position(s) openNew Position(s) open – Applications for two new positions – pelagic fisheries ecologist (1) and a population dynamicist (1) closed on
March 30, 2007.
Events and HappeningsGMRI successfully hosted the ICES symposium “Fishing Technology in the 21st Century: Integrating Fishing and Ecosystem
Conservation” in Oct/Nov 2006
New Research Activities / Highlights
GMRI had two new projects funded in the first quarter of 2007:
1. A feasibility study on the use of magnets to reduced dogfish catches in hook and gillnet gear in the Gulf of Maine
2. 2. A tagging study to assess monkfish (Lophius americanus) movements and stock structure in the northeastern United States
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