Fisheries Forum Set for March 18

[NCangler]

Contact:
Katie Mosher 919/515-9069
Heather Ward 919/515-1092

posted Tuesday February 26, 2008

North Carolina Sea Grant, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) are co-sponsoring the third Marine Fisheries Forum at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center on March 18. MFC advisors, the public, students, and anyone interested in cutting-edge fisheries research are encouraged to attend.

In the morning session, B.J. Copeland, MFC vice chairman, will moderate a panel discussion on coastal habitat protection plans, water quality indicators, Inner Banks development, State of the Coast trends, and future research needs.

In the afternoon, researchers, receiving support through the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant (FRG) and N.C. Blue Crab Research Program (BCRP) will present findings from recent projects.

FRG presenters include:

· Charles Van Salisbury and Blake Price. Low Profile Gillnet Testing in the Deepwater Region of Pamlico Sound, North Carolina.

· Tom Burgess and Paul Rudershausen. Determination of Catch Rates and Discard Mortality by Pot Type for the Black Sea Bass Commercial Pot Fishery.

· Chris Butler and Jeff Buckel. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Feeding Ecology and Potential Ecosystem Effects During Winter in NC Waters.

BCRP presenters include:

· Naomi Avissar, Ronnie Cahoon, Virginia Cahoon, and Larry Crowder. Testing a New Technique for Reducing Sea Turtle Damage to Crab Pots.

· Joseph Luczkovich, Terry West, and Mark Brinson. Analysis of Potential Effects on Land Cover Change on Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Populations in Primary Nursery Areas.

· Teresa Thorpe, and Tom Likos. Evaluation of Terrapin Excluder Devices on Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Pots, Effects on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Bycatch and Target Catch Efficiency.

· Jason Hassell and Dinah Hassell. Minimizing Pot Loss and Retrieval of Lost Pots.

· Ruth McDowell, M. Zachary Darnell and Daniel Rittschof. Effects of Temperature and Body Size on Clutch Production in the Blue Crab, (Callinectes sapidus).

FRG and BCRP are funded by the N.C. General Assembly and administered by Sea Grant. Both programs combine common-sense knowledge from members of local fishing communities with the analytical skills of university researchers.

The forum is free. Registration begins at 8 a.m. For more information, contact Sea Grant extension specialists Bob Hines at rjhines@ncsu.edu, 252/222-6312; or Marc Turano at marc_turano@ncsu.edu, 919/513-0122.

Details also are available online at Sea Grant of NC ~ Welcome under “About NCSG.” Click on “Events Calendar.”