Carole L. Neidig

Techniques for Spawning Common Snook: Broodstock Handling, Oocyte Staging, and Egg Quality

Abstract Methods were developed to improve spawning procedures for common snook Centropomus undecimalis. Individual females were isolated in net-pens to facilitate handling in taking ovarian biopsies, contain shed eggs, and minimize mortalities. A simple coverslip wet-mount method was developed for rapid and accurate evaluation of final oocyte maturation; oocyte development was divided into four easily recognized stages. These stages were correlated with histological sections. Five indicators were examined to assess spawn quality. The three best indicators were percent fertilization, percent hatch, and percent survival to first feeding. Egg and oil droplet diameters were not reliable indicators of egg quality in common snook.

Marine Stock Enhancement in Florida: A Multi-Disciplinary, Stakeholder-Supported, Accountability-Based Approach

Saltwater fishery management in Florida, USA, is mandated to include user-supported hatchery-based stock enhancement. Scientists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Mote Marine Laboratory have taken a multi-disciplinary, quantitative approach to develop effective strategies for integrating stocking into traditional fishery management, with an initial focus on red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). With consensus from stakeholders, particularly from a well-informed advisory board, focus has shifted over the past 8 years from production-oriented stocking to an assessment-driven developmental approach. The goal is to develop and expand economically successful and ecologically sound stocking technology for rapidly replenishing depleted fish stocks in a multi-billion dollar (US) saltwater recreational fishing industry. Release-recapture experiments for red drum have been underway in Tampa Bay for 6 years. This research has involved replicate stratified releases of ∼ 4 million red drum hatchlings, which are identifiable via genetic testing. More than 20,000 red drum tissues have been tested. These were obtained from fishery-independent and dependent sampling and from an angler-return program,. Of these, approximately 3,000 specimens have been assigned to hatchery breeding pairs. Experimental results, especially those based on hatchery fish recruited to the recreational fishery, have provided managers with valuable information about size at release, release timing, release habitat, and post-release movement.

An overview of the tarpon genetic recapture study in Florida – a citizen science success story

The tarpon Genetic Recapture Study started in an effort to determine how often a tarpon is caught and released in Florida’s growing and lucrative fishery by using DNA fingerprinting techniques as a tool to identify and track individual tarpon. Previous research on central and southwest Gulf of Mexico fisheries showed that most tarpon can survive short-term catch-and-release fishing practices. However, fishing pressure is intense during peak season, and tarpon fishing varies in time and space throughout the state. In this study, a novel method of obtaining fish tissue replaced traditional fin clipping, and citizen-scientists were utilized to collect DNA samples and record capture information from tarpon they caught. Benefits of using citizen scientists included being able to sample fish statewide and collect data on a species that is difficult to catch in great number. From the pilot study in 2005 through the study’s end in 2014, 24,572 samples were received from volunteer anglers throughout the coastal southeastern United States, and of those, 22,992 were collected from tarpon caught in Florida waters. tarpon samples were returned from fish caught along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts and Florida Keys, but regionally the database was depauperate in samples from north Florida. Public outreach was a critical and integral component of study promotion and angler involvement. Future work based on recapture data will provide information needed to estimate recapture rates, evaluate seasonal and regional movement patterns, determine site fidelity, establish connectivity of tarpon in Florida waters and over the long-term could determine if juvenile tarpon sampled within Florida nursery habitats supply the adult fishery.