September 6, 2019 — After devastating commercial fishery losses in Louisiana and Mississippi following freshwater intrusion from the Bonnet Carre Spillway opening earlier this year, officials are working on recovery efforts.
On 6 September, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) and the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory released around 90,000 juvenile spotted seatrout (speckled trout) into Hancock County waters.
March 15, 2019 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) brings together industry and academia to conduct groundbreaking fisheries research, and is the only research center funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) dedicated exclusively to fisheries science. As a result of its research track record, NSF awarded SCeMFiS a “Phase 2” second 5-year grant to continue its work. This funding shows that SCeMFiS met the high expectations of NSF for Phase 2 approval, a feat that not every Phase 1 center accomplishes.
Industry members of SCeMFiS will attend this year’s Seafood Expo North America and are available to be interviewed.
Factors that contributed to NSF’s determination that SCeMFiS merited a Phase 2 award included:
With its newly approved grant, SCeMFiS plans to use the next 5 years to focus on ways to reduce scientific uncertainty in fisheries science; the effects of climate change on fish stocks and fishing communities; resolving issues between fishing and offshore energy interests; and developing sound ecosystem-based fisheries management.
Since its founding in 2013, SCeMFiS has been at the forefront of finfish and shellfish research. Working with members of the fishing industry, SCeMFiS scientists have conducted innovative studies, including producing the first age-frequency distributions for ocean quahog, and being one of the only institutions to study species like chub mackerel and longfin squid.
“The work of our academic partners at SCeMFiS has been vital in improving our understanding of the species we harvest,” said Jeff Reichle, CEO of Lund’s Fisheries, which was one of the original members of the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board. “The more we know about these species, the better we’re able to harvest them sustainably.”
The SCeMFiS industry members attending the Seafood Expo are committed to continuing this scientific partnership. Industry members on the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board review, approve, and fund all SCeMFiS projects, which are selected to fill gaps in data and meet the industry’s unfilled scientific needs.
“In the last five years, we’ve been able to study and improve the understanding of some of the most pressing scientific issues facing the fishing industry,” said Center Director Dr. Eric Powell, of the University of Southern Mississippi, one of the academic members of SCeMFiS. “We are looking forward to continue our collaborative partnerships and tackle the scientific questions affecting fishermen the most.”
SCeMFiS members will be at the following locations at Seafood Expo North America:
Lund’s Fisheries: Booth 951
Sea Watch International: Booth 423
The Town Dock: Booth 2133
Seafreeze Ltd.: Booth 2407
Bumble Bee
March 13, 2019 — Spotted sea trout, wolffish, tripletail, California halibut, southern flounder, lumpfish and greater amberjack are amongst the prime candidate species that might allow for the US to diversify its marine finfish aquaculture sector.
So argued members of a distinguished panel of researchers during a special session of Aquaculture 2019 in New Orleans on 10 March – a session that offered some hope that diversification could help the country expand its marine finfish production and to reduce its $15 billion seafood deficit.
Eric Saillant from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Marine Aquaculture Centre, outlined the potential and pitfalls facing tripletail production, noting that “current data suggest that tripletail could become a successful species for commercial marine aquaculture, assuming that bottlenecks in the hatchery [phase] can be overcome.”
March 11, 2019 — An experiment to farm soft-shell crabs in North Carolina ponds could augment declining wild stocks and lead to having plenty of the delicacy fresh almost year round.
Scientists from North Carolina and Mississippi will work together in a three-year venture to raise blue crabs and harvest them for the lucrative soft-shell market.
Fresh soft crabs flood the market typically in May and June, at the height of molting season.
A $339,239 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will fund the project, managed by Sea Grant programs in both states. The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab will lead the effort and lend expertise.
January 23, 2019 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
Following the completion of its initial 5-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) has been awarded a new Phase 2 grant by the NSF to continue its work. SCeMFiS will use the new grant to further its track record of quality, collaborative research with its fishing industry and academic partners.
The grant is part of NSF’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) program, which was developed to initiate long-term partnerships among industry, academia, and government. SCeMFiS is the only Phase 2 IUCRC program dedicated exclusively to fisheries and marine science research.
“Our new Phase 2 grant will allow SCeMFiS researchers to continue our collaborative work with the fishing industry,” said Center Director Dr. Eric Powell, of the University of Southern Mississippi, one of the academic members of SCeMFiS. “The Phase 2 grant will enable SCeMFiS to continue to fund the groundbreaking research necessary to maintain healthy fish stocks and healthy fisheries at a time when reliance on the best available science is increasingly critical.”
As it moves into Phase 2, SCeMFiS will focus on reducing scientific uncertainty; the effects of climate change on fish stocks and fishing communities; resolving issues between fishing and offshore energy interests; and developing sound ecosystem-based fisheries management.
“Our priorities for Phase 2 reflect the biggest challenges in the future of the fishing industry,” said Center Site Director Dr. Roger Mann, of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, another SCeMFiS academic institution. “To meet these challenges, the industry and fisheries managers will need the kind of innovative research that SCeMFiS has regularly produced over the last 5 years.”
In its first 5 years, SCeMFiS has done groundbreaking research on finfish and shellfish. Among other projects, the Center produced the first age-frequency distributions for ocean quahog, one of the longest-lived species in the ocean. SCeMFiS scientists conducted the first benthic survey on important ocean habitat east of Nantucket, and mapped the shifting range of surfclams, documenting how climate change is beginning to affect the species.
SCeMFiS has also designed a pelagic survey for Atlantic menhaden and provided recommendations to improve port sampling for the species, carried out the only scientific work to date on Atlantic chub mackerel, and carried out an economic analysis for longfin squid.
All of these projects were reviewed, approved, and funded by the industry members on our Industry Advisory Board, who rely on sound science for the health of their fisheries and businesses.
“Fisheries management is only as good as the science it’s based on,” said Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of the Garden State Seafood Association and a member of SCeMFiS’ Industry Advisory Board. “That’s why it’s so important for the fishing industry to maintain its partnership with SCeMFiS. We need to promote the best available science.”
November 28, 2018 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
At its fall meeting in Middletown, Rhode Island, the Industry Advisory Board of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) awarded over $164,000 in grants for promising new marine science research.
The projects cover the impact of climate change on shellfish populations; how to properly determine the age of one of the ocean’s longest-lived species; and how offshore wind energy is likely to affect fisheries. All of the funded projects further the mission of the Center, which connects leading researchers and their partners in the industry to address critical marine science needs.
As part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Program, SCeMFiS used this meeting to set the shared priorities of our researchers from around the country and the industry advisors from the shellfish and finfish fisheries who approved the research.
“We see this as a great opportunity to partner with the scientific community, and we are looking forward to continue working with SCeMFiS on projects that affect our fisheries,” said Meghan Lapp, the Fisheries Liaison for Seafreeze, one of SCeMFiS’ Rhode Island members.
A full description of the funded projects is included below:
About SCeMFiS
The SCeMFiS mission utilizes academic and fisheries resources to address urgent scientific problems limiting sustainable fisheries. SCeMFiS develops methods, analytical and survey tools, datasets, and analytical approaches to improve sustainability of fisheries and reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates. SCeMFiS university partners, University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution), and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, are the academic sites. Collaborating scientists who provide specific expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal research, come from a wide range of academic institutions including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, University of Maryland, and University of Washington.
The need for the diverse services that SCeMFiS can provide to industry continues to grow, which has prompted a steady increase in the number of fishing industry partners. These services include immediate access to science expertise for stock assessment issues, rapid response to research priorities, and representation on stock assessment working groups. Targeted research leading to improvements in data collection, survey design, analytical tools, assessment models, and other needs to reduce uncertainty in stock status and improve reference point goals.
November 27, 2017 — CAPE MAY, N.J. — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
The Industry Advisory Board (IAB) of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) has allocated $26,467 in funding for two research projects during the Fall IAB Meeting held October 31-November 1, 2017 in Cape May, New Jersey. The awards span the broad mission of the SCeMFiS and include research on marine mammals and continued funding for the omnibus stock assessment proposal for Atlantic herring.
Funded projects are as follows:
This fall marked a trend to include industry sponsorship of social events and hold meetings close to prospective new members in an effort to attract and showcase research projects. The Cape May oceanfront provided a beautiful venue for the Fall IAB Meeting. Lund’s Fisheries Inc. and Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. graciously provided food, beverages and evening social events on the Cape May Whale Watcher as well as Cold Spring Village/Brewery and The Grange Restaurant.
Jeff Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries, Inc. commented, “It was an honor to host the Fall IAB Meeting of SCeMFiS in the port of Cape May. The fishing industry in New Jersey, both commercial and recreational, has a huge impact on our coastal communities and we are very pleased to be part of this science based organization focused on cooperative research with NMFS and other fisheries management bodies to ensure that we have healthy, sustainable fisheries now and in the future.”
The Industry Advisory Board of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS), supported by the National Science Foundation I/UCRC Program, provides research related to major challenges in fisheries management and brings participants from industry, government, and other organizations in need of science-based solutions into contact with academic scientists capable of providing that expertise.
The SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board is composed of members from the shellfish and commercial finfish industries and the NMFS-Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The organizational structure provided by the Center permits members to control the science agenda in exchange for financial support under the sponsorship of the NSF.
For a list of the SCeMFiS research projects already underway, please click the following link, http://scemfis.org/research.html. The Industry Advisory Board will review each of its funded projects at its next meeting to be held April 24 & 25 in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
August 15, 2017 — BOSTON — The following was released by SCeMFiS:
The scientists of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) recently completed a survey of the surfclam fishery area southeast of Nantucket Island to provide information regarding surfclam stock status and habitat to ensure continued resource access by local surfclam vessels. Surveys were successfully conducted in 4 days aboard the F/V Mariette sailing from New Bedford, MA.
Chris Shriver of Galilean Seafoods in Bristol, Rhode Island commented – “We believe this survey will assist the federal managers of the surfclam industry to preserve traditional surfclam fishing areas and to assist in opening new areas for the vessels to harvest surfclams so we can supply the public with sustainable and healthy clam chowders and clam strips, while protecting the marine habitat.”
Data will be reported to the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board at the Fall 2017 meeting in Cape May, New Jersey, with a final report by Spring 2018 and will be considered by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center (“NEFSC”) Survey Design Working Group at their September meeting. If necessary, reporting will be accelerated as required to provide input to the New England Fisheries Management Council (“NEFMC”) Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) decision making process. Data collected from this cruise will contribute both to ongoing efforts to (1) preserve access to the local resource by the small boat surfclam fishermen, and (2) ensure a well informed and scientifically based decision by the NEFMC concerning delineation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) area closures.
SCeMFiS scientific projects are unique in that they respond directly to the scientific needs of the fisheries managers in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry while upholding strict quality scientific standards and procedures. SCeMFiS partnerships include academia, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, and industry members. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are lead academic institutions and SCeMfiS is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other participating partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Incorporated, Garden State Seafood Association, Intershell International Corporation, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Incorporated, National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Seafreeze Limited, Sea Watch International, Surfside Seafood Products, and The Town Dock.
July 11, 2017 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
Intershell International Corporation, and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. have become the newest industry partners at the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS). SCeMFiS is a partnership between fishing industry members, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi(USM), and is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Inc., Garden State Seafood Association, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Inc., National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Sea Watch International and Surfside Seafood Products.
SCeMFiS is responsible for research projects that have led to major breakthroughs in fisheries science. One project of interest to Monte Rome, Owner of Intershell International Corporation, was the development of the Dameron-Kubiak research dredge. The dredge has allowed researchers to collect various sizes of juvenile clams proving that there is regular recruitment of ocean quahogs to the fishery. This information is a critical component in the development of shellfish management plans.
The Town Dock and Seafreeze Ltd. have pooled their funds to become the first SCeMFiS combined Industry-Advisory Board (IAB) Member. Katie Almeida, Fishery Policy Analyst with The Town Dock and Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison at Seafreeze Ltd. state, “We are both looking forward to working with SCeMFiS to help close scientific data gaps, give more scientific certainty to stock assessments and the fishery management process, and provide stability for the future of our businesses.” The Town Dock is the largest supplier of longfin squid (calamari) in the United States and Seafreeze Ltd. is the largest producer and trader of at sea frozen fish on the U.S. East Coast.
“On behalf of the members of SCeMFiS, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members Intershell International Corporation and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd.,” states Guy Simmons, SCeMFiS Chair and VP of Marketing and Product Development at Sea Watch International. “The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. and Intershell International Corporation have joined our organization to seek the ‘Best Science’ available to fortify our respective fishery management plans. Whether a large corporation or smaller independently owned company, our membership levels can accommodate participation in this important endeavor. We appreciate the confidence displayed by our new members in SCeMFiS and look forward to their insights.”
SCeMFiS has 7 newly funded projects covering a broad spectrum of fisheries issues. Several SCeMFiS research projects are especially relevant to the work of The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. Of particular interest is Evaluation of Alternative Approaches to Risk-Based Catch Advice and representation on the stock assessment team which will provide external support to NMFS for the benchmark assessment working group focusing on the 2017 Atlantic mackerel assessment.
The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. have chosen to partner with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science as their affiliated academic institution while Intershell Seafood Corporation will partner with the University of Southern Mississippi. “SCeMFiS continues to grow and its research portfolio continues to expand. This year SCeMFiS has taken on important new challenges in survey design, ocean quahog life history, forage fish, and uncertainty in stock assessments. We look forward to working with these new companies in a continuing expansion of our research portfolio,” says Dr. Eric Powell, SCeMFiS Center Director and Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Dr. Roger Mann, a Professor of Marine Science at VIMS and the Virginia Site Director at SCeMFiS, indicates that there are many ways industry members benefit from partnering with SCeMFiS. “Members gain access to an international group of experts who can focus on technical problems that are challenging your sector of the fishing industry,” said Dr. Mann. He also noted that SCeMFiS follows the research standards of the National Science Foundation, the “gold standard” in U.S. scientific research. “This places the results of any IAB funded effort beyond reproach as these results are used to advance the goals of sustainable harvest.”
By becoming SCeMFiS IAB members and partners, Intershell International Corporation, and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. help to determine funding for research projects which are pertinent to industry needs. Membership in SCeMFiS allows their businesses to expand upon their current commitment to sustainable and responsible fishing.
WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – May 23, 2017 – The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) Industry Advisory Board (IAB) announced $200,000 in funding today for seven fisheries research projects and marine mammal-related work. The funding was approved during the Spring IAB Meeting held in Ocean Springs, Mississippi from April 26-27.
The selected projects will research species such as menhaden, ocean quahogs, surf clams, and marine mammals. They will also address critical management issues related to how fisheries managers conduct and implement stock assessments. Grant recipients include researchers from the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth (SMAST), the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary (VIMS), and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES).
“The projects, both shellfish and finfish, that have been funded by SCeMFiS have already shown positive results in contributing to the ‘Best Science’ available,” said Guy Simmons, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at Sea Watch International and Chairman of the IAB, in a SCeMFiS release. “I believe the success of the past four years has been validated by new membership recruitment and the acceptance of the science from management agencies. I am especially proud of the work that went into the development and approval of our seven new research projects.”
SCeMFiS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program, which matches industry, government and other organizations with relevant academic specialists. The SCeMFiS IAB is composed of members of the shellfish and commercial finfish industries and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
“As participants in the Atlantic surf clam and ocean quahog fisheries, many of its stakeholders have been involved in cooperative research with the goal of reducing uncertainty in the fisheries management plan for many years,” said Mr. Simmons. “Since the formation of SCeMFiS, these efforts have been dramatically enhanced by the involvement of all the members as well as the guidance from the National Science Foundation.”
The IAB will review funded projects at its next meeting in Cape May, New Jersey October 31-November 1. A full list of SCeMFiS research projects already underway can be found online here.
Descriptions of the seven new research projects, provided by SCeMFiS, are below:
Risk-Based Catch Advice
Stock Assessment
Marine Mammals
Atlantic Menhaden
Ocean Quahog
Surf Clams