University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) “Influence of Temperature and Lunar Cycle on the Distribution and Catch Rates of Monkfish”
NA13NMF4540090
Principal Investigators: Andrea Johnson & Evan Lindsay
$105,840 Research Project/$272,160 Compensation/$378,000 Total Value
99 DAS Awarded: 6/7/13
This project will continue our investigation on the influence of temperature on monkfish distribution and catch rates by collecting and analyzing catch data from our industry collaborators, and temperature and depth data from probes on their gillnets. UMES has completed analysis of the historical data and has made some significant progress on these objectives above, but continuation of the sampling will allow them to compare multiple years of data to discern patterns or trends in catch rates and reproductive status associated with various environmental variables.
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) “Archival Tagging and Age Validation Efforts to Assess Monkfish Movement, Age Structure, and Growth in the Gulf of Maine”
NA13NMF4540091
Principal Investigators: Dr. Steven Cadrin & Crista Bank (SMAST), Dr. Jonathan Grabowski (Northeastern University), & Dr. Graham Sherwood (Gulf of Maine Research Institute)
$182,021 Research Project/$965,631 Compensation/$1,147,652 Total Value
327 DAS Awarded: 6/6/13
This is a two part project. Part one proposes to chemically mark and release monkfish into the wild as part of the high reward Data Storage Tag study. They will be able to couple validating the age of these monkfish with extensive information about their movement patterns. The methods developed in the lab from their previously funded age validation work will be used to validate the age of recaptured tagged monkfish in order to examine the growth rates and age structure of monkfish populations from each region where tagging will be conducted. Part two will release 100 DST monkfish focusing on the Gulf of Maine. Archival tags will be used to assess if monkfish exchange is high between the northern and southern management areas to investigate large-scale movements, including deepwater excursions.