Essential fish habitat of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus in the southern Chesapeake Bay

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Final Report to NOAA/NMFS for NOAA Award NA03NMF4050200 (AFC) 37
• Personal Author:
  Musick, John A.
• Corporate Authors:
  Virginia Institute of Marine Science
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Description:
  1.) Evaluate the suitability of Virginia tributaries for sturgeon restoration: 2.) Prioritize Virginia tributaries for Atlantic Sturgeon restoration: This work has been completed as revised and an extensive environmental assessment was done to identify and prioritize Atlantic Sturgeon spawning and nursery area in Virginia (see Appendix 1) 3.) Coordinate objectives and activities of VIMS and VMRC with those of the Atlantic Sturgeon restoration team in Maryland including Md.DNR and US Fish and Wildlife Service: The P.I. (J.A. Musick) organized a meeting that was held in Annapolis Md. in April 2005. At that meeting Jack Travelsted (VMRC), Brian Richardson (Md. DNR), Steve Minkkenen (USFWS Md), and Albert Spell USFWS (Va), agreed to participate in a joint Atlantic Sturgeon Restoration Program for the Chesapeake Bay with VIMS as the lead research agency for the State of Virginia. On April 26 the P.1., representing Virginia, participated in a meeting with personnel from Md DNR, Mirant Mid-Atlantic (fish culture facility working with Md. DNR), the University of Maryland, Aquaculture and Restoration Ecology Laboratory (AREL) and USFWS. At this meeting a Chesapeake Bay Atlantic Sturgeon Culture Working Group was founded with Dr. Andrew Lazur (AREL) as its chair with members from all the organizations mentioned above. Subsequently VIMS personnel obtained three Virginia sturgeon of adult size that were successfully transferred to AREL where two were induced to produce sperm which was cryo-preserved) 4.) Genetic Studies: During the study period VIMS personnel collected 32 genetic samples for analysis by USFWS and USGS geneticists. We will continue to collect genetic samples from all sturgeon we handle. Attempts so far to recover genetic material from sturgeon scutes recovered from archaeological sites have not been successful, but the possibility remains that this historical source of genetic material may yet contribute information. 5.) Juvenile tracking: (from original proposal). As juvenile sturgeon became more available in Chesapeake Bay this year, VIMS personnel were able to track two more individuals. These short (8hr.) tracks in the York River show similar behavior patterns to the juvenile sturgeon tracked in the James River previously (figures 1 and 2). The fish spent the daytime hours in or close to the channel and moved with the tide. This information has implications for the potential effects of channel dredging on sturgeon. In the future we propose to increase our tracking efforts in the James River using a passive sonic receiver array which will allow observations to be made over 24 hour periods for several weeks.
• Keywords:
  Atlantic Sturgeon Habitat Atlantic Sturgeon
• Format:
  pdf
• Document Type:
  Non-series Report
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA03NMF4050200
• Place as Subject:
  Chesapeake Bay (Md. and Va.)
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC0 Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bec1b11503c86bb544f9cac7b0ce30c6d8a2c8479ab5d4a01100c5ecf7893a5147d52f8b470c829b2ca1dcd6baec00d28d197ac77b9f64b32622899b3081f435
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/72674/noaa_72674_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.61 MB ]