Growth and Survival of Hatchery-Produced Atlantic Sturgeon Released as Young-of-Year into the Hudson River, New York

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerre W. Mohler ◽  
John A. Sweka ◽  
Andrew Kahnle ◽  
Kathryn Hattala ◽  
Amanda Higgs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
Hatchery Fish ◽  
Pectoral Spine ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
Pelvic Fin

Abstract In 2007, a team of U.S. scientists performed a status review of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus and concluded that the species would likely become endangered (U.S. Endangered Species Act 1973, as amended) in the foreseeable future over much of its range, including populations of the New York Bight, which is comprised of the Hudson and Delaware rivers. Therefore, we evaluated an experimental release of hatchery-produced Atlantic sturgeon that took place in 1994 to determine the value of using stocked fish as a population recovery tool. We obtained recapture data on hatchery fish (identified by presence of pelvic fin removal) from the Atlantic Coast Sturgeon Tagging Database. Our evaluation of retention for a pelvic fin removal mark on hatchery fish showed that 36% of clipped individuals retained a clean fin clip after 49 d. The minimum survival rate for hatchery fish to age 5 was estimated to be in the range of 0.49–0.66% using documented recaptures (N  =  24), known number of fish stocked, and results of the pelvic fin removal evaluation. Length and weight-at-age for recaptured hatchery fish at known ages 5–17 were within the range of values reported for wild fish whose ages were estimated by pectoral spine analysis. We also report that one ripe male hatchery fish at age 15 was captured along with other spermiating males at its parental spawning area in the Hudson River in 2009.

scholarly journals Dichelesthium oblongum (Copepoda: Dichelesthiidae) infestation in wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 2141-2147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Fast ◽  
Mark S. Sokolowski ◽  
Keith J. Dunton ◽  
Paul R. Bowser
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Parasitic Copepod ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Threatened Fish ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
Sodium Calcium ◽  
Juvenile Stages ◽  
Host Life ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
Sandy Hook

Abstract Fast, M. D., Sokolowski, M. S., Dunton, K. J., and Bowser, P. R. 2009. Dichelesthium oblongum (Copepoda: Dichelesthiidae) infestation in wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 2141–2147. Atlantic sturgeon were sampled in autumn 2007 and 2008 along the New York Bight. The fish were examined for the presence of external parasites, and blood, fin, and opercula biopsies were collected for subsequent serum analysis and histopathological evaluation. Dichelesthium oblongum, a parasitic copepod, was observed on 93% of the sturgeon sampled (77 out of 83) between Rockaway and Jones Beaches, NY, and Sandy Hook, NJ. During the course of the examinations, grossly visible lesions associated with the attachment and feeding of juvenile stages of D. oblongum were noted on the operculum, pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins of infested fish. Significant differences were observed between the level of infestation and serum chemistry across sampling sites, such that the most heavily infested fish were caught off Jones Beach (15.8 ± 2.79 lice fish−1), higher infestations than at Rockaway Beach (8.86 ± 0.89 lice fish−1) and Sandy Hook (5.31 ± 1.40 lice fish−1). Animals from Jones Beach also indicated ion loading (i.e. sodium, calcium, and magnesium), possibly as a result of stress or water loss through D. oblongum infestation compromising the epithelial barrier. The interaction of the environment and parasite with host life-history characteristics are discussed in terms of their ecological significance to this threatened fish species.

scholarly journals Dispersal of the Hudson River Plume in the New York Bight: Synthesis of Observational and Numerical Studies During LaTTE

Oceanography ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Chant ◽  
John Wilkin ◽  
Weifeng Zhang ◽  
Byoung-Ju Choi ◽  
Eli Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
River Plume ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
York Bight ◽  
Numerical Studies

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus ◽  
The U.S

<em>Abstract.</em>—Large-scale commercial fisheries for Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> in the late 1880s eventually led to substantial reductions in the population size. The coastwide Atlantic sturgeon population of the United States has not recovered to the levels seen prior to the 1900s. A number of factors have contributed to the slow recovery or continued decline of Atlantic sturgeon populations, including continued commercial fishing and the targeting of females for caviar, bycatch in other fisheries, and changes in habitat due to dam construction and water quality degradation. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) developed the first coastwide management plan for Atlantic sturgeon in 1990. In response to the shortcomings of that plan, the ASMFC applied new standards and the authority granted to it by the U.S. Congress to adopt a coastwide moratorium on all harvesting in 1998. A federal status review conducted in 1998 concluded that the continued existence of Atlantic sturgeon was not threatened given the situation at the time. Since then, monitoring programs have indicated varying levels of relative abundance in several water bodies along the Atlantic coast. The U.S. government is responsible for undertaking a status review to document any changes since the last review and determining whether those findings warrant a threatened or endangered listing for the species. The government’s findings may have far-reaching effects on many other Atlantic coastal fisheries.

Biology, Management, and Protection of North American Sturgeon

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Delaware Bay ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Abundance Estimate ◽  
Abundance Estimates

<em>Abstract.</em>—This paper analyzes historical abundances of spawning stocks of Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> during the late nineteenth century, when peak United States harvest of Atlantic sturgeon occurred (3,200 metric tons in 1888). The advent of preparation methods for caviar, transportation networks that allowed export of caviar to Europe, improvements in fishing technology, and development of a domestic smoked sturgeon market caused rapid emergence of an Atlantic sturgeon industry after the Civil War. The industry originated and was centered in the Delaware Bay, which supported the most abundant population on the U.S. East Coast. Important fisheries also developed in the Chesapeake Bay, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Caviar was the principal marketable product of the fishery and large females were targeted, resulting in fisheries collapse at the turn of the century. No substantial resurgence of Atlantic sturgeon landings has occurred in the twentieth century. A previous analysis of U.S. Fish Commission catch and effort records for the Delaware Bay fishery provided an estimate of 180,000 females prior to 1890. The Delaware Bay abundance estimate was extrapolated to other states by calculating the mean level of each state’s contribution to U.S. yields during the period 1880–1901. This approach led to abundance estimates of 29,000 for the Southern States (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida), 20,000 for the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, Virginia), 180,000 for the Delaware Bay, and 6,000 for the Hudson River (New York). Although the approaches used to estimate historical biomass and abundance contain untested assumptions and biases, the dominance of the Delaware Bay population in comparison to others is in part confirmed by the industry that developed there. Given the uncertainty in abundance estimates, conservative benchmarks are proposed of 10,000 females each, for systems that previously supported important fisheries.

scholarly journals Population origin of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus by-catch in U.S. Atlantic coast fisheries

2015 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 1251-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Wirgin ◽  
L. Maceda ◽  
C. Grunwald ◽  
T. L. King
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Population Origin ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Acipenser Oxyrinchus

Modeling the Pathways and Mean Dynamics of River Plume Dispersal in the New York Bight

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 1167-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weifeng G. Zhang ◽  
John L. Wilkin ◽  
Robert J. Chant
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Ocean Modeling ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
Regional Ocean Modeling System ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
York Bight ◽  
The Mean

Abstract This study investigates the dispersal of the Hudson River outflow across the New York Bight and the adjacent inner- through midshelf region. Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) simulations were used to examine the mean momentum dynamics; the freshwater dispersal pathways relevant to local biogeochemical processes; and the contribution from wind, remotely forced along-shelf current, tides, and the topographic control of the Hudson River shelf valley. The modeled surface currents showed many similarities to the surface currents measured by high-frequency radar [the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar (CODAR)]. Analysis shows that geostrophic balance and Ekman transport dominate the mean surface momentum balance, with most of the geostrophic flow resulting from the large-scale shelf circulation and the rest being locally generated. Subsurface circulation is driven principally by the remotely forced along-shelf current, with the exception of a riverward water intrusion in the Hudson River shelf valley. The following three pathways by which freshwater is dispersed across the shelf were identified: (i) along the New Jersey coast, (ii) along the Long Island coast, and (iii) by a midshelf offshore pathway. Time series of the depth-integrated freshwater transport show strong seasonality in dispersal patterns: the New Jersey pathway dominates the winter–spring seasons when winds are downwelling favorable, while the midshelf pathway dominates summer months when winds are upwelling favorable. A series of reduced physics simulations identifies that wind is the major force for the spreading of freshwater to the mid- and outer shelf, that remotely forced along-shelf currents significantly influence the ultimate fate of the freshwater, and that the Hudson River shelf valley has a modest dynamic effect on the freshwater spreading.

Maritime Cultural Landscapes in the New York Bight

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-106
Author(s):  
Daria Merwin ◽  
Victor D. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
York Bight ◽  
Maritime Cultural Landscapes

The study of prehistoric maritime cultural landscapes, in the broadest sense, seeks to explore the relationship between people and the water. If we are to reconstruct the nature of this relationship over time along the Atlantic coast of North America, we must account for environmental changes, particularly sea level rise and related shifts in ecological communities and habitats on the shore and at sea. This chapter surveys the coastal archaeology of the New York Bight (the bend in the Atlantic coast between southern New Jersey and Cape Cod) over the course of the Holocene, drawing data from terrestrial, coastal plain, and now submerged sites to examine topics such as the role of coastal environments in human settlement, evidence for seafaring and fishing technology, and the origins and consequences of adopting maritime cultural adaptations.

Offshore Distribution, Size, Age, and Lateral Plate Variation of Late Larval/Early Juvenile Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus) off the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey and New York

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1679-1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Cowen ◽  
Louis A. Chiarella ◽  
Candice J. Gomez ◽  
Michael A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Early Juvenile ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
York Bight

Late larval and early juvenile sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (14–28 mm SL) and G. wheatlandi (11–19 mm SL), were collected over shelf waters in the New York Bight during May, June, and July 1988. Gasterosteus aculeatus occurred up to 110 km offshore, with peak abundances found from 3 to 75 km. Gasterosteus wheatlandi was most prevalent within 10 km of shore, but some individuals were collected up to 55 km offshore. The further offshore distribution of G. aculeatus should increase its potential for dispersal, perhaps explaining their capacity to found freshwater populations in recently deglaciated habitats. The relatively nearshore distribution of G. wheatlandi should minimize dispersal (especially around Cape Cod) and may maintain a distinct, morphological step cline by the relative isolation of two subpopulations above and below Cape Cod.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document