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1. Testing the Ontogenetic Migration Hypothesis in the emerging Rhode Island Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) fishery using stable isotope analysis

   Agvent, Lindsay; Truesdale, Corinne; Piccone, Sofia; McMahon, Kelton W (February 2024, Ocean Sciences Meeting)

   In southern New England, rapid ocean warming over the past two decades has caused substantial redistributions of fishes, invertebrates, and the fisheries they support. The rapid emergence of the warm water-tolerant Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) fishery, once discarded as bycatch from the now declining lobster fishery, illustrates a prime example of climate-adaptive shifts in southern New England fisheries. However, limited data exist on the basic life history of Jonah crabs, despite their growing economic and societal value. This hinders ocean management capacity to meet multiple ecological, economic, and socio-cultural goals of sustainable harvest. Off the southern coast of Rhode Island, Jonah crabs are currently harvested in two fishery zones (inshore and offshore) delineated as holdovers from the lobster management zones. Jonah crabs landed in the offshore fishing zone are significantly larger, on average, than those landed in the inshore fishing zone. This presentation gives an overview of a study developed to test the hypothesis that these size differences reflect ontogenetic migration of Jonah crabs from the inshore to offshore fishing zones. To do this, we developed seasonally resolved isoscapes (isotope maps) of the region, which revealed distinct geospatial gradients in environmental stable isotope values between inshore and offshore necessary to track potential movement of Jonah crabs between fishing zones. We then used stable isotope analysis of three Jonah crab tissues with differential metabolic turnover times: the carapace (reflecting residence one year ago), muscle (reflecting residence averaged over the last ~4 months), and hepatopancreas (reflecting residence averaged over the last ~4 weeks) to construct an “isotopic clock” of residence throughout the regional isoscapes. This work provides key data on critical life history characteristics of the Jonah crab through a collaborative effort by scientists at the University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to inform management decisions on this emerging climate-adaptive fishery. 

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2. The consequences of size‐selective fishing mortality for larval production and sustainable yield in species with obligate male care

   https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12491  

   Kindsvater, Holly K.; Halvorsen, Kim Tallaksen; Sørdalen, Tonje Knutsen; Alonzo, Suzanne H. (August 2020, Fish and Fisheries)

   Abstract Size‐based harvest limits or gear regulations are often used to manage fishing mortality and ensure the spawning biomass of females is sufficiently protected. Yet, management interactions with species’ mating systems that affect fishery sustainability and yield are rarely considered. For species with obligate male care, it is possible that size‐specific harvest of males will decrease larval production. In order to examine how size‐based management practices interact with mating systems, we modelled fisheries of two species with obligate care of nests, corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops, Labridae) and lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus,Hexigrammidae) under two management scenarios, a minimum size limit and a harvest slot limit. We simulated the population dynamics, larval production and yield to the fishery under a range of fishing mortalities. We also modelled size‐dependent male care to determine its interaction with management. In both species, the slot limit decreased yield by <12% (relative to minimum size limits) at low fishing mortalities; at higher mortalities, individuals rarely survived to outgrow the slot and spawning potential decreased substantially relative to unfished levels, similar to minimum size limits. Spawning potential decreased less when managed with a slot limit if we included a positive feedback between male size, care and hatching success, but the benefit of implementing the slot depended both on the relative proportions of each sex selected by the fishery and on our assumptions regarding male size and care. This work highlights that the effects of size‐ and sex‐selective fisheries management can be nuanced and produce counter‐intuitive results. 

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3. Are Greenland’s inshore halibut fishers ready for individual transferable quotas?

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105932  

   Snyder, Hunter T.; Stone, Simon; Albert, Mary; Polashenski, Chris (November 2023, Marine Policy)

   Fisheries policy that is comprehensible and agreeable to fishers is a cornerstone of democratic and inclusive governance of living marine resources. However, policy designers struggle to systematically include diverse perspectives and they may not understand the breadth and depth of fishers’ knowledge about fisheries management and conservation. Failing to anticipate how reforms to management plans are received can spur policy rejection, distrust, and foster noncompliance. Knowing fishers’ knowledge of, inclination toward, and vulnerability to proposed changes can help fishery managers design and implement inclusive and forward-thinking fishery management plans. In a representative survey of Greenland’s inshore halibut fishers, we asked about current and proposed changes to the management of fisheries. From a response pool of experienced fishers, we found little to no knowledge about individual transferable quota programs, little to no inclination for or against these proposed changes, and a wide range of levels of vulnerability in the face of potentially curtailed access to fishery resources. Results suggest that fishers and fishery decision makers must increase the exchange of technical knowledge in understandable terms for Greenland’s fisheries policy to achieve sustainability outcomes and to secure small-scale fisheries livelihoods. We recommend that policy makers increase outreach efforts to show fishers “under the hood”, provide clear and accessible information, and seek suggestions and comments from fishers regarding proposed changes to the status quo. We further suggest that analysts conduct a transparent management strategy evaluation to model potential outcomes arising from any revised fishery management plan, fishing communities, and in turn, for Greenland’s entire small-scale fishing segment. 

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4. Kings of the North: Bridging Disciplines to Understand the Effects of Changing Climate on Chinook Salmon in the Arctic–Yukon–Kuskokwim Region

   https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10923  

   Feddern, Megan L.; Schoen, Erik R.; Shaftel, Rebecca; Cunningham, Curry J.; Chythlook, Craig; Connors, Brendan M.; Murdoch, Alyssa D.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Woods, Brooke (August 2023, Fisheries)

   Understanding how species are responding to environmental change is a central challenge for stewards and managers of fish and wildlife who seek to maintain harvest opportunities for communities and Indigenous peoples. This is a particularly daunting but increasingly important task in remote, high‐latitude regions where environmental conditions are changing rapidly and data collection is logistically difficult. The Arctic–Yukon–Kuskokwim (AYK) region encompasses the northern extent of the Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha range where populations are experiencing rapid rates of environmental change across both freshwater and marine habitats due to global climate change. Climate–salmon interactions in the AYK region are a particularly pressing issue as many local communities have a deep reliance on a subsistence way of life. Here, we synthesize perspectives shared at a recent workshop on Chinook Salmon declines in the AYK region. The objectives were to discuss current understandings of climate–Chinook Salmon interactions, develop a set of outstanding questions, review available data and its limitations in addressing these questions, and describe the perspectives expressed by participants in this workshop from diverse backgrounds. We conclude by suggesting pathways forward to integrate different types of information and build relationships among communities, academic partners, and fishery management agencies. 

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5. Differences in perceptions of COVID-19 risks in a fishing community in Alaska, 2020–2021

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106045  

   Smith, M Luke; Chi, Guangqing; Hennighausen, Hannah; Holen, Davin; Howe, E Lance (February 2024, Marine Policy)

   Bristol Bay in Alaska is home to the world’s largest commercial salmon fishery. During an average fishing season, the population of the Bristol Bay region more than doubles as thousands of workers from out of state converge on the fishery. In the months leading up to the 2020 commercial fishery opening, as the COVID-19 pandemic exploded worldwide, great uncertainty existed about the health risks of opening the fishery. Bristol Bay residents had not yet experienced any cases of COVID-19, yet the livelihoods of most were closely tied to the commercial fishery opening. To better understand how COVID-19 risk perceptions affected decisions to participate in the fishery, we administered an online survey to community members and fishery participants. We collected standard socioeconomic data and posed questions to gauge risk perceptions related to COVID-19. We find that COVID-19 risk perceptions vary across race/ethnic groups by residency and income. People with below median income who are members of minority groups—notably, non-resident Hispanic workers and resident Alaska Native respondents—reported the highest risk perceptions related to COVID-19. This study highlights the important linkages among risk perceptions, socioeconomic characteristics, and employment decisions during an infectious disease outbreak. 

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