Evaluating the Effectiveness of Fyke‐Net Sampling to Characterize an Anadromous Rainbow Smelt Population in the Fore River, Massachusetts, USA

Turner, Sara M.; Chase, Bradford C.; Bednarski, Michael S.; Elzey, Scott P.; Ayer, Matt H.

doi:10.1002/nafm.10703

i

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Fyke‐Net Sampling to Characterize an Anadromous Rainbow Smelt Population in the Fore River, Massachusetts, USA

2021
By Turner, Sara M. ; Chase, Bradford C. ; Bednarski, Michael S. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

North American Journal of Fisheries Management
Personal Author:

Turner, Sara M. ; Chase, Bradford C. ; Bednarski, Michael S. ; Elzey, Scott P. ; Ayer, Matt H.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service)
Description:

Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax are a small anadromous species that is native to the northwest Atlantic Ocean, and their populations have declined rangewide. A small, mid‐channel survey fyke net is annually deployed to collect demographic information on Rainbow Smelt in several rivers in Massachusetts. Understanding the effectiveness of this fyke net for providing representative data on the spring spawning run is essential for accurate population assessment. To evaluate this effectiveness, we deployed an experimental fyke net that spanned the river channel concurrently with the survey fyke net in the Fore River, Massachusetts, from 2009 to 2012. The survey net CPUE increased as the total number of fish increased, but survey net catches are highly variable at lower daily abundances. The differences in the size distributions were slight and only significant for females in 1 of 4 years. The sex ratios were generally the same between both nets. These findings suggest that while fyke nets might not be ideal for monitoring rivers with very small populations and/or in wide river reaches, catches in larger populations should generally reflect the overall population demographics.
Keywords:

Aquatic Science Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Management, Monitoring, Policy And Law
Source:

North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 41(6), 1789-1797
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10703
ISSN:

0275-5947 ; 1548-8675
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

Wiley
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA06NM4720249A ; Grant no. NA06NMF4720249
Rights Information:

Accepted Manuscript
Compliance:

Library
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:013a20a47abdec073a5447f78b93b78c4c3b78b45668a24ffc20204907d106bb
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/57102/noaa_57102_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 289.60 KB ]

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