Restoration of American Shad and River Herring in Atlantic Coastal Waters - Day 2

Wednesday, September 15, 2010: 8:00 AM-5:20 PM
407 (Convention Center)
American shad and river herring serve important roles in coastal ecosystems and were historically important species for recreational and commercial harvest.  Shad, for example, once supported one of the largest fisheries along the East Coast.  However, landings have declined from about 50 million pounds at the beginning of the 20th century to 3.8 million pounds in 1980.  In 2007, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission declared shad stocks along the East Coast had hit all-time lows.  Similar to the American shad, Atlantic river herring populations have also declined as a result of harvest pressure, habitat modification, and restricted access to spawning grounds.  In response, major efforts have been made by various Federal agencies and virtually every state agency along the East Coast to restore these fishes, including stocking hundreds of millions of larvae in recent decades, reopening historic spawning grounds, and more effectively managing the fisheries.  The purpose of our program is to provide a context for the decline of populations along the Atlantic coast of the U.S., describe past and present efforts to restore populations and how restoration efforts are monitored and evaluated, and using case studies, to discuss why shad and herring restoration has been successful in some systems and why populations have not rebounded in others.  Declining shad and herring stocks are a concern to fisheries professionals over a wide geographical region, with Pennsylvania at its heart.  Thus the location of the 140th Annual AFS Meeting in Pittsburgh provides a particularly good venue for reviewing the science and status of American shad and river herring.
Moderators:
Bill Richkus, PhD and Jim Bowker
Organizers:
Karin Limburg, PhD , Larry Miller , Bill Richkus, PhD , Jim Bowker , Ron Essig and Brian Wisner
8:00 AM
8:20 AM
8:40 AM
Determination of river herring natal origin by otolith microchemical markers
Sara M. Turner, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Karin Limburg, PhD, State University of New York; Simon R. Thorrold, PhD, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; John R. Waldman, PhD, Queens College
9:00 AM
Estimating anadromous river herring natal stream homing rates using otolith microchemistry
Benjamin I. Gahagan, University of Connecticut; Jason C. Vokoun, PhD, University of Connecticut; Gregory Whitledge, PhD, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Eric T. Schultz, PhD, University of Connecticut
9:20 AM
Validation of an otolith ageing method for American shad Alosa sapidissima
William Duffy, National Marine Fisheries Service; Richard McBride, NOAA NMFS; Michael L. Hendricks, M.S., FP-C, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Steven Cadrin, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; Ken Oliveira, University of Massachusetts
9:40 AM
10:00 AM
Break
10:20 AM
Genetic evaluation of American shad restoration success in James River, Virginia
Aaron W. Aunins, Virginia Commonwealth University; Bonnie L. Brown, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
10:40 AM
Rangewide distribution of neutral genetic variation in American shad (Alosa sapidissima)
Daniel J. Hasselman, Dalhousie University; Paul Bentzen, PhD, Dalhousie University
11:00 AM
Conservation propagation of American shad: History and methods
Michael L. Hendricks, M.S., FP-C, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
 
43-10
Conservation propagation techniques for alewife and blueback herring (Withdrawn)
11:20 AM
Propagation of American shad in Pennsylvania: Techniques and applications
Joshua D. Tryninewski, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Michael L. Hendricks, M.S., FP-C, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
12:00 PM
Lunch Break On Your Own
1:40 PM
The Acushnet River experience: Restoring migratory fish passage at three dams using nature-like and technical fishways
Steven M. Block, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Phillips Brady, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries; Lee Becker, P.E., EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc
2:00 PM
A demographic population model for American shad: Will access to additional spawning habitat upstream of dams increase population sizes?
Julianne E. Harris, North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, North Carolina State University; Joseph E. Hightower, PhD, U.S. Geological Survey, North Carolina State University
2:20 PM
Multi-scale ecology and multi-scale management of river herring
Jacob Kritzer, Environmental Defense Fund
2:40 PM
A collaborative approach to river herring restoration on Long Island, NY
Brian F. Kelder, Seatuck Environmental Association; Laura B. Stephenson, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Charles A. Guthrie, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
3:00 PM
Break
3:20 PM
Passage of American shad: Paradigms and realities
Alex Haro, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey; Theodore Castro-Santos, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey
3:40 PM
American shad in the Penobscot River: Choosing recovery tools
Michael M. Bailey, University of Maine; Ann B. Grote, University of Maine; Joe Zydlewski, USGS Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
4:00 PM
Understanding the role of origin and release location in behavior and habitat use of pre-spawning alewives to improve the efficiency of restoration
Martha E. Mather, PhD, U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Holly J. Frank, Fishery, Biologist, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Joseph M. Smith, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Robert M. Muth, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
4:20 PM
Encouraging stakeholder participation in restoration research: The adopt-a-herring program
Holly J. Frank, Fishery, Biologist, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Martha E. Mather, PhD, U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Sarah M. Pautzke, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Joseph M. Smith, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Robert M. Muth, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
4:40 PM
Development of alternatives for mitigating river herring bycatch at sea
Jamie Marie Cournane, University of New Hampshire; Jacob Kritzer, Environmental Defense Fund
See more of: Symposium Submissions