Saving Seafood

VIMS professor inducted into Fishing Hall of Fame

October 24th, 2016 — A Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor just joined Zane Grey, Ernest Hemingway and Izaak Walton as an inductee in the Fishing Hall of Fame of the International Game Fish Association.

John Graves is chancellor professor and chairman of fisheries science at VIMS in Gloucester Point. His induction this month is based largely on his billfish research, which has been “instrumental in the ongoing efforts to conserve game fish populations worldwide,” IGFA president Rob Kramer said in a statement.

“Anglers today owe him a great deal of gratitude,” Kramer said.

Billfish are large predatory fish notable for their prominent bills. Graves’ research led to the use of circle hooks for billfish, which VIMS says sharply increased the survival rate of marlin, swordfish and sailfish in the catch-and-release fishery.

His genetic research also enabled federal fisheries officials to distinguish between legally fished Pacific blue marlin and illegally fished Atlantic blue marlin.

Graves called his selection a “tribute to all fisheries scientists and fisheries managers.”

Read the full story at the Daily Press 

Virginia Institute of Marine Science deploys ‘Frankenturtles’ in effort to boost species survival

June 14, 2016 — A part of David Kaplan recognizes that his new research into sea turtle mortality is pushing the envelope.

The assistant professor and his graduate student Bianca Santos are doing something never before attempted: repurposing the carcasses of two dead loggerheads, outfitting them with GPS devices and setting them adrift in the Chesapeake Bay, all in the name of science.

“Most people have not had the reaction that this is disgusting,” Kaplan said Monday morning from the boat basin at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester Point.

“It’d be interesting to see what the public thinks, because I think of it as a really great thing. I mean, it’s pretty gruesome, but it’s taking animals that died tragically and reusing them for the (greater) good. A better purpose.”

Read the full story at the Daily Press

Removal of derelict fishing gear has major economic impact

January 22, 2016— A new study by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that removal of derelict fishing gear could generate millions of dollars in extra harvest value for commercial fisheries worldwide.

The study focused on a 6-year, collaborative program to remove derelict crab pots from Chesapeake Bay, showing that the effort generated more than $20 million in harvest value for area watermen.

Extending their methodology to estimate the economic benefits of removing derelict crab pots and lobster traps on a global basis, the researchers showed that removal of even 10% of derelict pots and traps from major crustacean fisheries—the percentage of the Bay’s derelict pots they estimate were removed by the VIMS program—could increase landings by 293,929 metric tons, at a value of $831 million annually.

Read the full story at Phys.org