A Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources Rega

Maine State LibraryMaine State Documents 1-1994 A Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources Regarding the Economics of Fish Stock Enhancement Maine Groundfish Hatchery S

Maine State Library

Maine State Documents

1-1994

A Report to the Joint Standing Committee on

Marine Resources Regarding the Economics of

Fish Stock Enhancement

Maine Groundfish Hatchery Study Commission

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalmaine.com/dmr_docs

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Recommended Citation

Maine Groundfish Hatchery Study Commission and Maine Department of Marine Resources, "A Report to the Joint Standing

Committee on Marine Resources Regarding the Economics of Fish Stock Enhancement" (1994) Marine Resources Documents 16.

http://digitalmaine.com/dmr_docs/16

THE ECONOMICS OF F I S H STOCK ENHANCEMENT

GROUNDFISH HATCHERY STUDY COMMISSION

S t o n in g t o n , ME 04681(207) 3 6 7 -5 9 0 7

B ra d fo rd E B urns KEMCO, INC

W illia m S m ith Box 264

J o n e s p o r t , ME 04649 (207) 49 7 -5 6 9 6

W i l l i s S p e a r , J r

B irchw ood Ave

C o u sin s I s l a n d , ME 04096(207) 84 6 -9 2 7 9

BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

P e t e r P i e r c e

15 W a in w rig h t D riv eCape E l i z a b e t h , ME 04107(207) 79 9 -9 6 4 8

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

S p e n c e r A p o llo n io

31 E a s te r n Ave

B oothbay H a r b o r, ME 04538(207) 6 3 3 -52 5 3

8 /2 /9 3

(C hairs: T e rry B radley, L arry B uckley, L in d a K ling) 6

E cosystem D ynam ics

(C hairs: G eir D ahle, H u n t H ow ell) .8

F ish ing P re ss u re and Im pact A ssessm ent

(C hairs: M a rk L ussier, R ollie B a m a b y ) 9

P ro g ra m D ev elo p m en t and F un din g C o n s i d e r a t i o n s 10

(C hairs: N o rm Stavis, R ich L angton, K en Beal)

M eeting A genda 12

A bstracts o f In v ited P resentations

R esults o f the M asfjo rd en E xperim en t on C od E nhan cem ent,

N o rw a y (G eir D a h l e ) 13

C o m p arativ e R esults o f S tock E n hancem ent in

V ario u s Species (H unt H o w e l l ) 14

In dustry P ersp ectiv e: H ow W e G ot H e re and

W h e re W e N eed T o Go (N orm an S t a v i s ) 15

R esearch P e rsp e c tiv e o f Cod R anching:

S tudies o f E arly L ife H istory (L arry B u c k l e y ) 16Sea R anching: T h e M aine A pproach (R ichard L an g ton ) .17

C od Sea R anching M ailin g L i s t 19

C o d S ea R a n c h in g : Id e n tify in g th e N e x t S te p s

E x e c u tiv e S u m m a r y o f th e W o rk s h o p

In o rd e r to evalu ate prospects fo r the enhancem ent o f n atu ral stocks o f cod and other groundfish in the N o rth w estern A tlan tic, w e req u ire con siderably m o re fundam ental inform ation about the aq u a cu ltu re o f the fish and the dynam ic processes o f the ocean ecosystem s into w hich they w ill b e released T h ere are fo u r topics o f im m ediate co ncern: aq uaculture o f the fish up

to the release size, understanding the processes contro llin g ju v e n ile survivorship o f cod, understanding the ecosystem dynam ics in the release area in o rd e r to assess the carry ing capacity

fo r cod, and d ev elo p m en t o f the m eans to assess the im p act (on w ild p opulations and on the ecosystem ) o f th e rele ase o f hatch ery-raised fish A fifth co nsideration is the ev olu tion o f the

p ro g ram m atic in fra stru ctu re and m ulti-agency coordination o f fu nd ing that w ill b e req u ired fo r any p ro g ra m o f sto ck enhancem ent o f groundfish

A ll w ork in g g ro u p reports indicated a need fo r tim e, m o ney, and p erso nn el, and several specified that co m m itted leadership w as o f fundam ental im p o rtan ce W e w ill also req u ire

m ethods to ev alu ate the success o f the enhancem ent efforts A fu rth e r p o in t o f ag re e m e n t is the call fo r fu ll p articip a tio n in this e ffo rt by all constituent grou p s: fish erm en , the fishing industry,

th e scientific research com m unity, the fisheries agencies, and g o v ern m en t rep resen tatives A ny

e ffo rt tow ard sto ck enhancem ent o f cod in the N o rth w est A tlantic m ust b e coordinated region ally, to en su re th at all p o litical and geographic entities are full participants

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-I n tr o d u c tio n to th e C o d S ea R a n c h in g W o rk s h o p

T his w o rkshop w as designed to evaluate the prospects fo r stock enhancem ent o f g ro u n dfish in

N ew E ngland S ev eral groups have suggested that w e co uld rev e rse th e trend o f declining stocks

o f g roundfish in N ew E ngland using a strategy based on aqu acu ltu re o f g roundfish fo r release

T h e sea ran ch in g o f cod and other g roundfish calls fo r th e release o f cultivated in d iv id u als into the sea, w h ere they m ust fend fo r them selves in th e natural ecosystem W hen they are

su fficiently larg e, they can b e caught again In the case o f cod, th e goals o f sea ranching

in clu d e the enh an cem en t o f natural stocks through rele ase o f aquacultu red individuals

T h e U N H /U M S ea G ran t C ollege P ro g ra m is not an advocate fo r this particu lar id ea o r any giv en approach W e at the U N H /U M Sea G ran t C ollege P ro g ra m organized this m eeting to

p ro v id e a foru m fo r the exchange o f ideas and in fo rm atio n W ith this goal in m ind, w e encouraged p articip a tio n by diverse interest groups: research scientists, ad m in istrato rs,

po litician s, fish erm en , and seafood p ro cesso rs T h ese g roups w e re all able to p ro v id e their persp ectiv e on the p ro sp ects for enhancem ent at the m eeting

T h e speakers fo r th e m orning session covered a ran g e o f id eas, o p inio ns, and in fo rm atio n that exists today T h e sp eakers w ere encouraged to p ro v id e factual in fo rm atio n that w ould b e useful

in the decisio n-m ak in g and planning p rocesses They w ere also encouraged them to g iv e their sum m ary view s - i e , th eir opinion - based on their exp erien ces T h ese sum m aries b y p eo ple

d irectly involved in fisheries and aq u acu lture are p a rticu la rly useful in evalu atin g the info rm atio n , som e o f it contradictory, that surrounds the issue o f sea ranching

A p rim ary ob jectiv e o f this m eeting w as to identify tho se questions that m ust b e an sw ered in

o rd er to evaluate p ro sp e c ts fo r stock enhancem ent o f g ro u ndfish F o r exam ple: sea ran ch in g has

tw o com ponents T h e first is rearing o f the species to the ap p ro p riate stage for release T his

in itse lf req u ires co n sid erab le technical and scientific expertise: m anipulation o f the rep ro d u ctiv e

p rocess, o p tim izatio n o f diet, control o f disease, and reg u latio n o f g ro w th D esign o f th e release strategy is also critic a l, including: size at release and seasonal tim ing and geographic siting o f release D eterm in atio n o f these and o th er p aram eters req u ires g en u in e u nderstanding o f the ecology o f the ecosystem into w hich the release is m ade In both these areas - a q u acu ltu re and ecosystem dyn am ics - w e m ust identify those issues that a re central to an evaluation o f the prospects fo r stock en h ancem ent o f groundfish

D u rin g the a fte rn o o n , w e held a p lenary brain-storm ing session to identify and p rio ritiz e topics that are critical to an evaluation o f stock enhancem ent W e called this session, "W hat D o W e

N eed to K n o w ?" F ro m this listing, w e identified a sm all num ber o f high-priority topics that becam e the focus o f w orking groups E ach group considered the follow ing questions:

1

W hat a re the steps to im plem entation?

W hat a re the o b stacles to im plem entation?

W hat resources a re n eeded?

W ho should b e in v o lv ed ?

Any con sid eratio n o f p ro sp ects fo r sto ck enhancem en t w ill req u ire a regionally coord inated ,

m ulti-faceted a p p ro a c h An im p o rtan t goal o f this m eeting w as to spot o p p ortu n ities for collaboration T h e fin a l elem en t o f this list, "W ho should b e in v o lv e d ? ",w a s aim ed at building partnersh ips th at w ill b e essential fo r the ratio n al consideration o f prospects fo r stock enhancem ent o f co d a n d o th er g roundfish in the N o rth ea st U S

I n tr o d u c tio n to th e C o d S e a R a n c h in g W o rk s h o p (c o n tin u e d )

A nn B ucklin, D ire c to r

U N H S ea G rant P ro g ra m

2

B R A IN -S T O R M IN G S E S S IO N : W H A T D O W E N E E D T O K N O W ?

1 W h a t c o n tro ls t h e s u rv iv o rs h ip o f ju v e n ile c o d ?

-W hat d efines th e "survival w indow "?

-W h e re /w h en /h o w v ariable is survivorship?

-W hat is the m o rtality /life tab le fo r cod: w here is the ris e in slope o f m o rtality curve?

(C an w e afford to determ in e this?)-W hat a re h ab itat requirem ents fo r survival? (consider food and p rey species

ab u n d ances and substrate availability)-W hat a re th e effects o f p red ators?

-H ow can you m easure o r tag surv ival and survivorship? (consider: visible tags, co lor

p o ly m o rp h ism , diagnostic pigm entation)

2 W h e n , w h e re , a n d h o w s h o u ld re le a s e o f c o d b e d o n e ?

-W hat is th e econom ically best size fo r release?

-W hat is th e critical age?

-H ow m any larvae/ju v en iles should w e release?

-H ow can w e use evidence from o th er species?

-C an w e p ro v id e suitable benthic habitat?

-W hat is th e b est artificial habitat fo r ju v en ile cod?

-W hat is th e targ e t survivorship?

-A re th ere differen ces betw een raised/w ild fish?

3 H o w d o w e r a is e th e fish p r io r to re le a se ?

-W hat is th e b e st feed for p o st-y o lk sac ju v en ile cod? (consider: nutrition and

econom ics)-H ow can w e m anage disease co n tro l during culture? (consider: inoculation)

-H ow m any fish can you use fo r broodstock? H ow m any should you use?

-H ow m any larv a e o r ju v eniles can you produce?

4 W h a t m a n a g e m e n t issues a re a s so c ia te d w ith re le a se o f r e a r e d fis h ?

-W ill en h ancem ent speed recovery?

-H ow can w e sustain yield, n ot ju s t enhance c u rren t stocks?

-W ho ow ns the fish? (consider: com m on o w nership, retentio n o f o w nership w ith fish

tagging)-H ow can w e p rev e n t sm all stocked fish from suffering m o rtality associated w ith being cau g h t and discarded b y harvesters?

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4 (c o n ’t) W h a t m a n a g e m e n t issues a r e a s so c ia te d w ith re le a s e o f r e a r e d fish ?

-W h at a p p ro ach w ould b e b e tte r than stock enhancem ent?

-A q u acu ltu re o f fish w ith no release -S tro n g e r m anagem ent practices -P re d a to r rem oval

-R ed uctio n o f fishing p ressu re -S cien tifically based fishing strategies-E n co u rag em en t fo r fisherm an to p a rticip a te in scientific studies -H o w is en h an cem en t to b e paid for?

-H ow do w e show tangible results?

5 W h a t a s p e c ts o f eco sy stem d y n a m ic s w ill d e te r m in e su c c e ssfu l e n h a n c e m e n t?

-W h at cau sed stock decline? (consider: o v er-fish in g , p o llu tio n , disease, clim atic

ch a n g e, noxious dinoflagellate bloom s)-C an you im p a c t natural populations?

-W h at is th e carry in g capacity fo r cod o f the ecosystem ?

-H o w is th e carry ing capacity fo r cod affected by o th er species?

-S en sitivity o f ecosystem ?

-W h at a re c ritic a l environm ental factors? (consider: ocean circu lation , m eteo ro lo g y,

c lim ate, event-scale en v iron m ental issues, b io lo g ical-ph ysical linkages, food

w eb dynam ics, species com position)

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designing an ap p ro p riate strategy for controlled breed ing

T he next c ritic a l step is to develop techniques to en su re successful larval rearin g , including ensurin g accep table levels o f m ortality and p ro d uction o f healthy fish S everal types o f system s should b e considered for this pro cess, including: en closures, p o n d s, and land-based, circu latin g , o r recirculating system s W e should also, at an early stage, assess locations for h a tc h e ry sites, especially w ith regard to w ater quality

A p rim a ry fac to r determ ining success at this stage is food; w e w ill need to consid er both artificial and n a tu ra l feeds for both econom ic and biolo gical reason s T im ing o f

w eaning from any a rtificial feed w ill also have co n siderab le im pact

T im ing o f release, w hether by age or size o f the fish, w ill b e critical in determ in in g both p ost-release b io lo g ical processes and the econom ic costs o f rea rin g O ptim ization o f the tim ing o f release w ill req u ire consideration o f a com plicated m ix o f facto rs, and w ill be critical to th e o v e ra ll effort

D eterm in atio n o f feasibility should be done at sm aller scales than that eventually anticipated for p ro d u ctio n T hus, m uch consideration m ust be given to th e challenge o f scaling up from p ilo t to production scales

W h a t a r e th e o b s ta c le s f o r im p le m e n ta tio n ?

T he fo rem o st obstacle to successful aqu aculture o f g ro un dfish , based on p rev io u s studies w ith cod and o th er groundfish, and on the first p rin cip als o f m arine aquacu lture, is disease F o r any new system , the possible hurdles im posed by p ath o g en ic organism s a re essentially unkn o w n A lso , num erous technical and econ om ic p ro b le m s associated w ith spaw ning and re a rin g o f cod on a large scale need to b e overcom e

D isch arge fro m hatcheries is alw ays a p rim a ry concern w hen any com m unity

considers siting aq u a cu ltu re activities nearby P ollution o f coastal environm ents resulting from co m m ercial aqu acu ltu re is a very real danger; q uestions co n cern in g the im pact on environm ental q u ality m ust be resolved im m ediately T h e re a re also potential legal hurdles

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