Guest post: Logan Neu, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Fingerling is a broad term applied to a juvenile fish that is about the size of a finger. The definition of what length classifies a fish as a fingerling varies between species, but the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) generally defines a fingerling as ranging in … [Read more…]
Guest post: Bonnie Myers, North Carolina State University, USGS Substrate in streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean creates important fish habitat and plays an important role in multiple fish life history processes, daily activity, and prey availability. Substrate in aquatic habitats consists of surface and subsurface materials in the streambed, riverbed, or ocean bottom with different fish … [Read more…]
Guest post: Logan Neu, University of Minnesota Twin Cities A creel survey (also known as an angler survey) is a type of in-person survey performed by resource managers where an interviewer asks an angler questions about their fishing experience including questions such as the duration of the trip, how many fish they caught, and if … [Read more…]
Phylogeny is the representation of evolutionary relationships, often displayed as a “tree” (i.e., branching diagram) where the most closely related organisms are connected by a node and more distantly related organisms have multiple steps back in the tree before they are connected. Nodes are often characterized by biogeographic events and evolutionary innovations. In fishes, jawless … [Read more…]
A culvert is essentially a tunnel to pass flowing water, typically a small stream, under a man-made structure, usually a road. Depending on the size, placement, and design of a culvert, the impacts to a stream channel vary. These impacts, in turn, can affect fish habitat and fish migration. Culverts are frequently barriers to fish … [Read more…]
Biogeography is the study of patterns in distribution of fish (or other) species. Biogeography provides an understanding of where populations are currently present and can help infer evolutionary relationships at a broad scale, including historic population isolation and colonization events. Geologically, many species patterns can be tracked with plate tectonics. The study of biogeography can … [Read more…]
A longline a type of fishing gear that is generally used to target pelagic species, such as large tuna and billfish. Baited hooks are attached to a long fishing line via shorter branch lines called snoods or gangions. Longlines can be anchored or freely adrift (with tracking devices so they can be retrieved). In certain open … [Read more…]
Guest post: Lauren Flynn, New Mexico State University From the Latin verb demergere, meaning ‘to sink’, demersal describes fish that live on or just above the ocean or lake floor. It can also refer to a commercial fishery for groundfish and shellfish, which typically uses gear that is weighted so it sinks to the bottom. … [Read more…]
An ITQ is an Individual Transferable Quota. It is part of a quota system in which the managing agency divides up catch shares of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the fishing season. This essentially, creates a “stock market” like system for the fishery where ITQs can be bought and sold. Setting up this type of … [Read more…]
TAC is Total Allowable Catch. This is the upper limit in the amount of fish, either by weight or number, that a fishery is allocated in a given season or year. TACs can apply to the targeted fish and/or bycatch, where once the limit is reached the fishery is closed for the remainder of the applicable … [Read more…]