Students Research Presentations: Characterization of pelagic habitat use by overwintering Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in the Mid-Atlantic

Year:

2022

Source:

American Fisheries Society Atlantic International Chapter Meeting, Newry, ME

Abstract:

Atlantic menhaden are a migratory, schooling, forage fish species that serves as a crucial source of food for a variety of predators in coastal ecosystems and supports the largest fishery by biomass on the East Coast of the United States. Recent research indicates that a large portion of the Atlantic menhaden stock overwinters in offshore waters in the Mid-Atlantic instead of migrating south to warmer waters off the coast of North Carolina as previously thought. However, little is known about Atlantic menhaden’s overwintering pelagic habitat preferences or how this species may respond to changing oceanographic conditions. To investigate how water conditions, depth, and latitude affect both the spatial presence and absence of Atlantic menhaden schools and the size distribution of these schools, I analyzed hydrographic data and Atlantic menhaden school location and size data collected during a February-March 2022 acoustic survey conducted off the coast of New Jersey. Generalized additive models were generated to explore the relationship between hydrographic conditions and Atlantic menhaden school presence and size. Large schools of overwintering Atlantic menhaden were concentrated in more southerly 5.5 ºC waters at approximately 17 m depth. This survey confirmed the use of Mid-Atlantic waters by overwintering adult menhaden and will provide habitat use information to help sustainably manage the offshore winter bait fishery for Atlantic menhaden.

Mentors:

Genevieve Nesslage, Ph.D.

Students:

Eban Charles, Bowdoin College