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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 8
April 2009
NEC announces new co-op research projects
DURHAM, NH – A new round of collaborative research projects between scientists and commercial fishermen from Gulf of Maine states is about to begin.
Late in January, the Northeast Consortium (NEC) announced its 2007 cooperative research awards, which include seven new projects, three project development awards, and continuing funding of outreach and education projects.
Plagued by funding shortfalls and shifts in how the federal money that fuels the program was administered, the 2007 projects could not be announced until this time, according to NEC Director Chris Glass.
“With budget cuts and other reductions, the 2007 federal budget did not contain the Northeast Consortium appropriation request of $5 million through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as in the past,” Glass explained.
Instead, the consortium had to compete for funding by filing a proposal in response to a “competitive broad agency announcement” put out by NMFS. At the end of that process, NMFS awarded the Northeast Consortium $1.82 million for 2007.
This award allowed the NEC to continue its core operations but, because the funding level was so much smaller than in the past, the consortium had to come up with a different approach to distribute funding among cooperative research projects, project development awards, and strategic outreach and education initiatives.
“A decision was reached to roll both the cooperative research and project development competitions into one single process,” Glass explained. “Consequently, the request for proposals (RFP) cycle did not begin until late 2007, and reviewers were given more time to review the additional proposals.”
Additionally, all project proposals were, as usual, required to go through National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and regulatory review by NMFS. Even as of the first week of October 2008, some of the funded projects had not yet received NEPA approval and, therefore, were not authorized to start.
The Northeast Consortium has been funding collaborative research projects within the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank ecosystems since 2000. The consortium is made up of four research institutions: the University of New Hampshire (UNH), University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The administrative staff works out of UNH.
New projects
The newly funded collaborative research projects, their principal investigators, and funding amounts are as follows. All of these projects have numerous scientists and commercial fishermen acting as principal investigators. Due to space limitations, only the principal investigator and one industry partner associated with each project are listed.
A contemporary assessment of the bycatch of regulated species and the Nordmore grate in the northern shrimp fishery – Steve Eayrs, Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), and Maggie Raymond, Associated Fisheries of Maine, which is acting as the coordinator for seven participating fishing vessels. $84,832.
Spawning movement and habitat use of winter flounder in the southern Gulf of Maine – Elizabeth Fairchild, UNH, and David Goethel, F/V Ellen Diane. $230,253.
Examining fishing practices of divers in the Maine sea urchin fishery – Maggie Hunter, Maine Department of Marine Resources, and Marcus Jones, F/V Lora Lee Too. $43,437.
Acoustic assessment of juvenile bluefin tuna aggregations: a feasibility study – Molly Lutcavage, UNH, and Billy Muniz, F/V Lily. $74,247.
Regional proposal to test sensors for detecting the sea squirt, Didemnum sp. A, on Georges Bank – Judith Pederson, MIT Sea Grant, and Jim Ford, F/V Lisa Ann II. $50,000.
POTYEAR: Determining the seasonality of cod pots – Michael Pol, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), and Robert Marcella, F/V Ann Marie. $68,785. And,
Archival tagging study of monkfish, Lophius americanus – Anne Richards, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and John Our, F/V Miss Fitz. $55,000.
Project development
Project development awards provide up to $25,000 to fund seed projects that plan, design, and test the feasibility of an idea. The newly funded project development awards, their principal investigators, industry partners, and funding amounts are as follows.
DOGGRATE: Development of a spiny dogfish excluder in a raised footrope whiting trawl – David Chosid, DMF, and Frank and Andrew Mirarchi, F/V Barbara L. Peters. $21,635.
Analysis of herring diet in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine: a step toward assessment of bottom-up ecosystem influences on Atlantic herring distribution and condition in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine – Jeffrey Runge, GMRI, and Peter Kendall, F/V Miss Alicia. $24,988. And,
Environmental monitors on lobster traps (eMOLT) VI: bottom currents – Vitalii Sheremet, University of Rhode Island, and Erin Pelletier, Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, who will act as fishing vessel coordinator. $24,814.
Outreach
The NEC will continue to fund the following outreach programs designed to reach fishermen, industry groups, scientists, and fishery managers.
Marine Resource Education Project (MREP) – The NEC continues to fund this flagship program, MREP, which is currently administered by GMRI. Mary Beth Tooley and John Williamson, who have been with the program since its inception, continue to provide industry and stakeholder input as MREP board members.
Peer review process – The peer review process developed by NEC staff for all completed NEC projects will continue. All pertinent results of these reviews are provided to members of the staff of the New England Fishery Management Council, the council’s Research Steering Committee, and appropriate Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff, as well as other state and federal decision-making bodies.
Fisheries and Ocean Data Management System – WHOI will continue to manage, host, and prepare data for the NEC’s Fisheries and Ocean Data Management System. This system provides project data and metadata from any standard web browser, such as Internet Explorer.
Northeast Consortium web site – The NEC will continue to host its comprehensive web site, which includes its Project Information Database, designed by NEC staff in conjunction with UNH’s Research Computing Center. This database provides information on all projects funded by the NEC since its inception and includes a list of all project participants, annual reports, final reports on completed projects, fieldwork photos, video, and resulting publications and presentations.
Commercial fisheries technology transfer – UNH Cooperative Extension will continue outreach to share fishing technologies with people in the commercial fishing industry and work to facilitate cooperative fisheries research between industry and academic partners.
In addition, the NEC will seek out further outreach opportunities, including stakeholder meetings, workshops, and symposia, as funding allows.
No further funding
At this time, there will be no funding for the Northeast Consortium for FY 2008. While the NEC will continue to support ongoing projects and additional activities as funding allows, there are no plans to release an RFP unless further funding is received.
In 2008, the consortium lost the expertise of three staff members due to reduced funding: NEC Associate Director Troy Hartley left to take a position as director of Virginia Sea Grant; Outreach Coordinator Rollie Barnaby took early retirement last year; and Oceanography Specialist Chris Manning took a position in cancer research with Cell Signaling Technology.
“These individuals contributed greatly to the success of the NEC, and they are indeed missed,” said Glass. “Regrettably, these positions cannot be filled due to the uncertain future of funding for the NEC.”
For more information on the activities of the Northeast Consortium and collaborative research in general, visit the consortium web site at <www.northeastconsortium.org>. /cfn/
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