CMER Annual Report Page 5

Annual Report and Statement of Program Direction - 1995	9 Mar 1996
	UMass/NOAA Cooperative Marine Education and Research Program

Projects Being Completed In 1995 Or Early 1996

A number of projects supported with CMER funds in previous years are now completed, or are in the process of being completed either in 1995 or early 1996. Projects funded since the CMER Program began in 1989 is provided in Appendix IV, and summaries of projects completed prior to 1995 are provided in Appendix V.

Establishment of NOAA-Supported Undergraduate Summer Research Internships (93-07, completed in January 1995)

R.W. Walker, Environmental Sciences Program, UMass-Amherst
R.L. Levin, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, UMass-Amherst

The undergraduate program in Environmental Sciences within the College of Food and Natural Resources at UMass presently has in excess of 250 student majors. Students may specialize in one of three program areas of concentration: Environmental Biology and Health, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, or Environmental Policy. The curriculum is designed to provide each student with both theory and "hands on" experience necessary to identify, analyze, and solve problems associated with the environment. This project is intended to make available, on a competitive basis, summer internships at a NMFS research facility in the Northeast Region. Students will be required to submit a formal report based on their summer laboratory experience and training which will also include a presentation of the data gathered and analyzed. Students will have an opportunity to obtain six credits of independent study; their immediate supervisor will submit a written report assessing the student's performance and effort.

Biology of the Goosefish (91-06, completed in June 1995)

M.R. Ross, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, UMass-Amherst (funding provided by the Population Biology Branch, NEFSC, NMFS)

The goosefish (or monkfish) is currently under increasing fishing pressure due to an expanding fishery for the species. The life history of the species is being examined to assess its status and condition as a fishery resource. Factors being examined include growth, distribution, abundance, maturation, timing of spawning. A reliable technique for aging the species is also being developed; length-frequency analysis is being investigated as an alternative means of aging goosefish.

Investigation of Right Whale Population Dynamics and Spatial Distribution in New England Waters (89-03, Year 5, completed in July 1995)

J.T. Finn, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, UMass-Amherst (funding provided by Marine Mammal Investigation, NEFSC, NMFS)

The Right Whale Recovery Plan lists as one of its main objectives the "identification and protection of habitats essential to the survival of the northern right whale." It is still unknown where some segments of the population migrate during winter, and new genetic evidence indicates an additional summering ground near Greenland. During the summer and early fall, right whales are concentrated in the Gulf of Maine, in the Bay of Fundy, and on the Scotian Shelf near Browns Bank and Baccaro Bank. Methodology for this study involves plotting sightings data for right whales, sea surface temperature, bathymetry, and currents in overlaying coverages using a geographic information system (GIS). The analysis involves looking for broad seasonal patterns. Multivariate discriminant analysis will be used to determine if there is a statistically-significant relationship between locations where right whales are sighted and geophysical features. The discriminant function can then be used to classify right whale habitat and predict the likelihood of right whale habitation in areas of the northwest Atlantic that have not been investigated. Factors such as food production and other biotic activity can also be incorporated into the GIS to determine how right whale occurrence may be influenced by environmental changes.

Finfish Discard Mortality in the Gulf of Maine Small-Mesh Shrimp Fishery (91-05, to be completed in December 1995)

M.R. Ross, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, UMass-Amherst (funding provided by the Population Dynamics Branch, NEFSC, NMFS)

The short-term mortality of finfish discards in the northern shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Maine is being investigated. The study focuses on species selected by the Principal Investigator and personnel of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center based upon presence as discards and importance in supporting directed fisheries. Variables that might influence survival of discards include duration of tow, time on deck, size of fish, and air and water temperatures. Such variables will be identified and assigned a priority. Highest priority variables will be tested on board cooperating vessels to determine their importance in survival of discarded fish. Studies aboard a commercial shrimp vessel and during the annual shrimp survey conducted by the State of Maine.

Seabird Entanglement by Commercial Fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (93-01, to be completed in January 1996)

C. R. Griffin, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, UMass-Amherst

There is increasing concern about seabird mortality associated with commercial fishing operations. Relatively little research has been conducted on seabird mortality in U.S. waters off the Atlantic coast. While some of the data on seabird mortality in commercial fishing gear has been summarized by the NEFSC, detailed analyses are lacking. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the quantity and quality of information available from the NEFSC relating to the extent of seabird entanglement in northwestern Atlantic domestic and foreign fisheries. This will be accomplished using the existing NMFS data bases to examine the catch of marine birds; particular attention will be on species composition of catches, sources of temporal variability of catches, and relationships of the catch with the various fisheries. This analysis will help determine whether there are sufficient data to justify a larger-scale study. Additionally, the project will provide NEFSC with information to evaluate the effectiveness of their protocol for collection of bycatch data on seabirds.

CMER
Blaisdell House
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-0820