On a warm morning last August, Ryan Schloesser and his labmate, student Lauren Nys, trawled off Oyster, VA. After a summer filled with collecting fish, they worked with experienced ease, throwing around jokes as smoothly as they tossed their nets behind the boat. What they pull up in their nets should help fisheries managers better predict the size of fish populations.

But predicting population size is more complicated than simply going out and counting fish, says Schloesser, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science Ph.D. candidate and Virginia Sea Grant-funded research fellow. “There are some years when we see a high abundance of young-of-year fish, but then we don’t get a high adult abundance. We don’t always know why that is.”

Schloesser suspects that some young fish don’t make it to adulthood because they don’t survive the winter, when waters are colder and prey is less available. Assuming that fat young fish are better equipped to withstand cold temperatures and intermittent food supply, Schloesser hopes to demonstrate a non-lethal method for measuring fat content in popular fish species including summer flounder, striped bass, and Atlantic croaker.

On this day Schloesser was hunting for small flounder on which to test his method using an aptly named device he calls the fatmeter. The fatmeter is a little handheld box that uses radiowaves to assess fat content. To work the fatmeter, Schloesser lays the fish on a flat surface and holds the device along its belly. The process takes about a minute aboard the boat, and Schloesser says it’s relatively easy and harmless for the fish compared to other methods: “As opposed to taking out the fish’s liver,” Schloesser chuckles. “They’re not swimming away after that.”

Schloesser, a Wisconsin native, says he always knew he wanted to be a marine biologist. As an undergrad at Texas A&M, he studied marine biology and got his first experiences working on the water: otter trawling for juvenile red snapper and later researching blue fin tuna.

“I’m excited by questions,” he says. Adding with a laugh, “Rhetorical questions.” Questions like, how does the environment affect the number of young fish that survive to become citation-sized seafood? What do we need to know to predict how many fish we should take next year? All joking aside, these big picture issues have real implications for the way fisheries are managed and for our ability to ensure that we have fish to catch in coming years.

These complicated questions all fall under ecosystem-based management, which Schloesser adds, “is a data-hungry approach.” Ecosystem-based management takes into account all of the environmental factors that may affect fish populations, including weather, the availability of food, or the number of predators.

Understanding the health of young fish is one more piece of the puzzle, a piece that needs more investigation. In working up last summer’s data and comparing the fatmeter to other methods for measuring fish health, Schloesser has found that the fatmeter doesn’t measure up to other methods for flounder, which are typically a lean fish. However he found promising results when he used it on fattier species, such as striped bass and croaker.

With the fatmeter’s reasonable success, Schloesser is motivated to answer those complicated questions.

“It all comes down to sustainability. The oceans are becoming more and more important as a source of food,” he says. “It comes down to flounder, striped bass, and croaker being around for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

First published on vaseagrant.vims.edu on April 10, 2012.
“Trawling for a Better Way to Assess Fish Health” 

Despite the stagnant economy, Virginia’s oyster aquaculture industry is on an upward track, and oyster hatcheries plan to keep that trend positive.

That’s why representatives from nearly all of the oyster hatcheries in Virginia set aside an entire day on October 25 to hear West Coast counterparts and research experts discuss one more threat to water quality—ocean acidification.

The Ocean Acidification Workshop was the result of an initiative of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) to bring the lessons learned about changing ocean chemistry from the Pacific Coast shellfish industry to hatcheries on the East Coast. These lessons include the need to monitor for signs of ocean acidification and manage hatchery activities around those findings; lessons that the businesses in Oregon and Washington learned only after they were surprised by acidification and suffered devastating losses.

“Understanding changes in water chemistry is important to the bottom line,” said Karen Hudson, Virginia Sea Grant Shellfish Aquaculture Specialist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, who partnered with SFP to organize the event. In Virginia, the bottom line is that oyster aquaculture is a multimillion-dollar industry that relies on local hatcheries to spawn and provide young oysters for planting.

When an oyster is born, it doesn’t have a hard shell. Rather, it is a free-swimming speck of an animal that is very sensitive to its watery environment. In this stage, water quality affects larval growth and development, and some of these effects can impact the animal for its entire life. Water quality at the hatchery could be the difference between a normal, healthy oyster and an unmarketable or dead one.

The availability of the molecule that oysters use to build their shells is the key concern for hatcheries. Ocean acidification occurs as ocean water increasingly absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This dissolved carbon dioxide makes waters more acidic and actually reduces availability of the specific compound—calcium carbonate—that oysters use to build their shells. Low levels of calcium carbonate makes it difficult or even impossible for an oyster to lay down the first shell that it needs to transition from a free-swimming larva into a fingernail-sized seed oyster, which hatcheries can sell and oyster growers can plant.

Ocean acidification snuck up on West Coast hatcheries, and the results were devastating. In 2005, some hatcheries produced no viable oysters during the growing season. It wasn’t until 2010, when hatcheries started measuring for acidification and planning activities around preferable water quality conditions, that production levels were partially restored.

After hearing how West Coast hatcheries were caught off guard by ocean acidification, representatives of Virginia’s hatcheries seemed ready to take a proactive approach by adding high-precision measurements of acidity and other measures of water quality to their already existing monitoring efforts.

Although ocean acidification is driven by worldwide increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, local factors could play a role in influencing the affects of acidification in an area. Without knowing more about those local factors, it’s difficult to say whether Atlantic states will suffer a similar fate to those along the Pacific. However, there is evidence that ocean acidification is occurring in places along the East Coast. In Maine, researchers found muds so acidic they corrode shellfish larvae. Laboratory experiments suggest that estuaries could be vulnerable to the expected changes in water chemistry as atmospheric carbon dioxide increases in the future.

Virginia’s hatcheries hope that by staying in front of the issue, they can continue to provide needed oyster seed to Virginia’s rapidly growing oyster aquaculture industry. According to the Virginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program’s 2010 “Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and outlook Report,” oyster growers sold more than 16 million oysters worth more than $5 million. That same year, growers planted nearly 80 million seed oysters, three times more than ever before, poising oyster sales to dramatically increase in a few years when those oysters mature.

“Many things are changing our water quality,” says Hudson. “The coasts are changing. Inputs are changing. By learning from the West Coast, Virginia’s hatcheries are staying current and looking forward.”

“VA’s Oyster Industry Takes Proactive Steps to Stay on Top” 
Published on vaseagrant.vims.edu on Nov. 11, 2011

It sounds like the set-up to a punch line—a fisherman, a researcher, and a fishery manager are in a boat—but what they pull up is no joke. The 6ft, 200lb female Atlantic sturgeon the group captured is the first confirmed female in spawning condition found in the James River.

The find could help researchers identify the spawning location of the genetically distinct sturgeon population in the James River. Documenting details of this population has become more important recently since National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering adding Atlantic sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay to the endangered species list.

An endangered species listing would affect those fishing in the James River, where sturgeon is a bycatch species in the striped bass fishery. Despite reports that the sturgeon population in the Bay is dwindling, some fishermen believe that the population in the James is increasing. George Trice is one of these fishermen.

Trice, who has been a fisherman for more than 22 years, is concerned about what would happen to his fishery if sturgeon make it to the endangered species list. For the last seven years, with help from Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program and Virginia Sea Grant, Trice has been testing new nets that could reduce sturgeon bycatch. In addition to testing new nets, he and his partners have been collecting ongoing data about sturgeon abundance in the James. This data provide an important baseline for fishery managers, should sturgeon get listed. According to Trice, collecting data is key, especially when it comes to making claims about fish populations.

“If you don’t document it, it’s just word of mouth, or hearsay,” Trice says. Documenting sturgeon abundance involves putting the same net in the water for the same amount of time multiple times during multiple years and counting the sturgeon caught in each haul. Trice’s sturgeon catches have increased since 2005, when the group started sampling, but it will take a few more years of data before the increase can be considered real (that is confirmed statistically).

This kind of data is only one piece of the pie, says the advisor and observer in Trice’s research, Albert Spells, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Virginia Fisheries Coordinator. Spells has been partnering with many groups to determine the James River sturgeon “functional population size,” which is the number of spawning adults. Getting to the point of estimating a functional population size requires a variety of data—everything from abundance samples that Trice helps generate to genetic analysis that identifies sturgeon from the James.

“This information will help us learn where and what constitutes critical in-river habitat,” Spells said in an email.

Spells and a team of Virginia Commonwealth University researchers hope that the female captured earlier this month will help in identifying where some of that critical spawning habitat is in the James. The fish was confirmed in spawning condition by a VCU student, while performing a surgical procedure to embed a tag into sturgeon so that it could be tracked.

With a better understanding of how James River sturgeon fit into overall Atlantic sturgeon population, Spells expects that management in the region would be more effective, regardless of whether sturgeon get an endangered species listing.

Published on vaseagrant.vims.edu on May 18, 2011
“Virginia Fisheries Resource Grant Project Pulls in ‘a First’”

The recent recession may have caused a dip in coastal economies and temporarily slowed demand for coastal access, says Charlie Colgan, but he predicts that in the long-run, “New demands on the waterfront are emerging. The coast will be more crowded than ever.”

This wasn’t good news to the audience of the Working Waterways and Waterfronts (WWWWF) Symposium held in Portland, ME, in September. The Portland Symposium was the second installment of the 2007 WWWWF Symposium held in Norfolk, VA, which kicked off a national discussion between commercial, recreational, and government groups interested in preserving coastal access and working heritage against a trend of coastal access loss.

“The 2007 Symposium tried to identify and describe the problems and to find common ground between diverse water-dependent industries,” says Natalie Springuel, Maine Sea Grant Extension Agent and Maine’s WWWWF Symposium organizer. “The 2010 conference focused on how we address the challenges that working waterfronts are facing. What solutions are working?”

In addition to sharing information, the Symposia have provided those with a stake in coastal access an opportunity to discuss local solutions to water access loss and possibilities for working together nationally or regionally. These discussions come at a time of steep decline in public access to the coasts.

The concern for Symposium attendees was clear: How could they provide opportunities for multiple-use waterfronts today and into the future?
Determined to end on a positive note and inject an air of possibility into the room, Colgan, who is Chair of Community Planning and Development at the University of Southern Maine, showed a picture of a sign that read “Fish’n Optician Lobsters & Eyeglasses.”

“We should never underestimate the depth of creativity,” Colgan says. “We need to find and recognize what those creative uses are to make the best use of the limited space we’re dealing with.”

Coastal Crowding
One reason coastal access is becoming scarce is coastal crowding caused by a combination of population growth, property value increases, and sea level rise.

Coastal populations are booming nationwide, according to the most recent U.S. census data. Population in coastal counties increased an average of 48% from 1999 to 2003, and before the economic downturn, the trend showed no sign of slowing. More than 2.8 million new housing permits were issued in coastal counties throughout the nation over the same five-year period.

Currently, Virginia ranks in the top five states for population increase. The population of coastal counties increased by nearly 50% from 1980 to 2003, and more than 180,000 building permits were issued for single-family and multifamily residences in Virginia’s coastal counties from 1999 to 2003.

While populations increase, Virginians also continue to lose access to the coast due to sea level rise. By 2050, VIMS researchers estimate that sea level will be nearly one foot higher than today’s levels. This could result in the loss of some access points and the increased pressure of more traffic at others.

“These are not isolated issues,” says Springuel, who coordinated surveys of water access issues in 2007 and 2010. “Loss of access is happening in different ways in different parts of the country.” With population increase comes higher prices for property, and when this happens, some locals get priced out of their communities.

Economic Monotony
Springuel notes that as citizens lose access, economic diversity is lost. A common theme that ran through the 2007 survey was the conversion of traditional working waterfronts to other uses.

“The concerns folks are having are related to year-round economic vibrancy of the community,” says Springuel. As communities lose economic diversity and become seasonal attractions, residents may need to leave the community for part of the year to find work.

Yet diversity itself also spurs complications on the waterfront. Before the 2007 Symposium, commercial and recreational groups saw each other as competitors for limited access points. Bringing these groups together in the same room with a willingness to work together was a first step to bringing the working waterfronts dialogue to the national level.

“I can’t overstate the importance and strategic significance of partnerships between commercial and recreational fisheries groups,” says Tom Murray, organizer of the 2007 Symposium and Marine Extension Leader for Virginia Sea Grant. Because of its standing in the community, notes Murray, Sea Grant has the ability to bring people together without an agenda and to see all sides of the situation, a position that has empowered stakeholders to work together at the local and national levels.

“Virtually every water-dependent interest was present at the Norfolk meeting,” says Murray. “What came out of that meeting was a consensus definition that was general enough to include all of the players and could be applied across the country, but it was specific enough to really address the common problems all groups are facing.”

Local Efforts
This year’s Portland Symposium revealed a silver lining behind looming cloud that is coastal access loss. Because the challenges are similar nationwide, solutions to local problems can be transferred to other areas facing similar challenges. This means that one successful effort could form a model for others throughout the country.

Sea Grant programs nationwide have been successful at providing science-backed information to develop new tools, provide information, and facilitate local and state efforts that have the potential to be translated again and again among states.

For example, Florida Sea Grant has contributed to developing science-based methods, spatial data, and model policies to support waterway access planning. One such tool, the Regional Waterway Management System, analyzes navigation patterns of commercial and recreational boats and can help decision makers prioritize waterway dredging and maintenance based on use (see Florida Sea Grant’s webpage).

In other cases, one Sea Grant program becomes a model for others. Maine Sea Grant developed an online clearinghouse of information on legal and policy tools for property owners, public interest entities, and recreational users to address local coastal access issues. The website, Accessing the Maine Coast (www.accessingthemainecoast.com), was so successful that it’s being used as a model by five other Sea Grant Programs, including Virginia’s (see BOX).

Without anticipating it, North Carolina Sea Grant created a model for implementing statewide change. As the leader of North Carolina’s Waterfront Access Study Committee, Sea Grant organized a study of working waterfronts. The results of the study prompted the state to authorize $20M to protect waterfront diversity. This effort has helped guide other programs, such as Washington Sea Grant, as they lead the West Coast Governor’s Agreement on Ocean Health.

National Attention
“Although coastal access is a local issue, the coast is the gateway to federal resources,” says Murray, pointing out that the federal government has jurisdiction of the oceans from the edge of state waters to 200 miles out. “Without access, we’re not deriving the value of these federal natural resources. From an individual perspective, without access to the water, we can’t enjoy it.”

For these reasons, many supporters of WWWWF and attendees of the Symposium would like to see more national support backed by federal dollars.
Since the 2007 conference, working waterfronts have gained some traction on the national level. Representative Chellie Pingree (ME) is credited with getting the definition of working waterfronts, generated during the Norfolk Symposium, recognized on the federal level. The definition passed the House as an amendment to the National Flood Insurance Reauthorization last summer, with support from all Virginia districts except the 6th and 7th. (The bill is still awaiting action in the Senate.) More detailed legislation has been slow moving.

Current issues involving coastal access aren’t addressed in federal legislation. The nearly 40-year-old Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972 loosely refers to a federal commitment to “preserve, protect, develop, … and restore” the nation’s coasts, but it doesn’t cover access, coastal use planning, working waterfronts, or other modern issues facing the nation’s coast, making CZMA in its current form weak at best in the eyes of many.

“As important as working waterfronts are,” Pingree said at the Symposium, “they don’t receive the same support as land conservation or historic preservation.”

Yet that hasn’t stopped Pingree from proposing the “Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act,” cosponsored by Virginia’s Congressmen Gerald Connolly (11th District) and Rob Wittman (1st District). The Act, currently in the committee stage, would amend CZMA to include the working waterways and waterfronts issue and create a funding pool to support coastal states to preserve or expand access. In the meantime, Representative Frank Pallone (NJ) proposed the “Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010,” cosponsored by Virginia’s Congressmen James Moran (8th District), Robert Scott (3rd District), and out-going Congressman Glenn Nye (2nd District). Also in the committee stage, this Act would provide funding for coastal jobs that promote economic and environmental sustainability.

Despite the local successes and the ongoing work on the national level, the 2010 Symposium ended less with closure than with a call to arms. By the last day, attendees were teeming with ideas for next steps. Suggestions spanned everything from an online database of proven methods and tools for dealing with access loss on the local level to organizing a lobbying effort to reach the Federal government.

For Sea Grant programs across the country, this means continuing to provide information to their local constituents and potentially helping develop an online database of best practices. Other groups, such as Maine’s Island Institute, may consider helping to organize a coalition.

It is clear that attendees of this second WWWWF Symposium see a long road ahead. As Pingree says, “The momentum comes from this group working together. It’s certainly a necessary and good start, but we’re not done yet.”

First published on Virginia Marine Resource Magazine on Winter 2011
“Working Waterways and Waterfronts”