Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)

In the Lab

Sportfish Research and Conservation

By Greg Stunz, Ph.D. and Larry McKinney, Ph.D.

Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

TIDE

Jan/Feb 2010

The Harte Research Institute (HRI) is part of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and is unique among marine research organizations for several reasons. While most similar institutions focus on basic research, HRI takes it one step further by bringing science, economics, and marine policy together to solve problems. The approach has been labeled the Harte Model and has garnered international attention for recognizing that the only way to interject sound science into resource management is make sure scientists, economists, and policy experts have the opportunity to work closely together.

HRI is organized around six endowed chairs with expertise in all these areas. The science focus is on ecosystem health, marine biodiversity, geospatial sciences and ocean health, with a focus on fisheries. A major HRI goal is to develop our fisheries focus into a world class sport-fish research center. As you will see, we are well on the way.

Sport fisheries are a major focus of HRI, with cutting-edge research taking place at the new Sport-fish Research Laboratory. The long-term goal of the sport-fisheries group is to provide the scientific data necessary for maintaining and rebuilding healthy fish stocks to increase long-term economic and social benefits from these living marine resources. Often sound management is hindered by a lack of scientific data, and much of this data can only be provided by experts in the field.

The Sport-fish Research Program, lead by Dr. Greg Stunz, has assembled an outstanding fisheries research team compiled of fisheries experts from Ph.D.-level scientists and research staff, attracting the nation’s most qualified graduate and undergraduate students who are dedicated to answering scientific questions about sport-fishing and providing much needed research data to promote sustainable fisheries management. Much of this work is directly supported by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). The Sport-fish Research Program and CCA routinely partner to define complementary research goals. Below are just a few examples of past and current research projects in the Sport-fish Research Laboratory:

Catch-and-Release of Spotted Seatrout - This CCA-sponsored study investigated the mortality for hook-and-line-captured spotted seatrout as a function of bait type, hook type, angler skill level, fish size, and live-release tournaments. A relatively low overall short-term mortality for all treatments was observed with the majority of fish surviving. These data suggest that management options involving the release of spotted seatrout, including release of fish are viable management tools.

Real-time movement patterns of Spotted Seatrout – “Wiring the Texas Coast” – A state-of-the-art acoustic network is being installed in the bays/lagoons from Port Mansfield to Aransas Pass, Texas, that can track spotted seatrout (or any species) that have been surgically implanted with special tags. This is Phase I of a larger project to “wire” the entire Texas coast. Driving this study is the fact that inlets such as the Port Mansfield Channel and Cedar Bayou in Texas have historically provided water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and its estuaries, and there has been much recent concern over the rapid closure of theses inlets due to sedimentation. The closing of these channels may impact many recreational fishery species that require access to the bays via these inlets. The CCA and HRI are partnering to use acoustic tracking, field sampling, and otolith- and genetic-based techniques assess migration patterns of spotted seatrout.

Red Snapper: Is the spawning stock hiding in plain sight? - Red snapper is the most economically important reef fish species in the Gulf of Mexico and considered to be in drastic decline. However, a paradox exists as it relates to recruitment into this fishery. Current recruitment levels are higher than the historical average, although stock size is estimated to be at an all-time low. This suggests that a sub-set of un-fished, older red snapper exist in the Gulf of Mexico that are maintaining recruitment. Known as the “Mother–Load” hypothesis, we believe that these fish are “hiding in plain sight” by using habitats that are not targeted by fishermen. This project will provide critical information to resource managers by discriminating habitat use and movement patterns of older red snapper by using acoustic tags to track their movement patterns.

Satellite Tracking of Apex Predators - In oceanic ecosystems, large sharks function as top predators, and their abundance and distribution patterns may have cascading effects on the ecosystems they inhabit. Sharks are typically slow-growing, long-lived species that use a variety of habitats over broad areas. These life history characteristics leave them vulnerable to exploitation, and in fact many shark populations are in decline. The Texas Coast, in particular the Padre Island National Seashore, supports one of the largest land-based shark fisheries in the world. We are implanting large sharks (e.g., bull and hammerhead) with satellite pop-up archival tags that track fish globally with no need to recover animals. The tags will communicate with us via the Argos satellite network, and the data will be transmitted directly to researchers at the HRI. These data will provide valuable scientific information concerning the movement patterns of these species.

Through collaborative partnerships with HRI scientists and conservation groups, both CCA and HRI can reach common goals of increasing long-term economic and social benefits from Gulf of Mexico living marine resources while promoting wise management to ensure sustainable fisheries for the future.

The HRI's new state-of-the-art facility is located at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on a 240-acre island just minutes from downtown Corpus Christi. It is one of the state's fastest growing four-year universities and currently serves more than 9,100 students. TAMU-CC is a part of the Texas A&M University System.

Dr. Greg Stunz is an Endowed Research Associate Professor and leads the Sport-fish Research Group at HRI with over 15 years of sport-fish research experience. Dr. Larry McKinney is the Executive Director of HRI. Dr. McKinney came to HRI from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) where he retired after 23 years of service as the former head of Coastal Fisheries at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. More information about can be found at www.harteresearchinstitute.org.