SNEC AFS 2005 WINTER MEETING
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 12, 2005
 

Food Web Patterns of Lepomis Macrochirus and Gibbosus in Ponds of Different Alkalinity.   William G. Hagar, Maureen  Kelly¹, Alison Smith² and Bruce W. Stallsmith³, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard,  Boston, MA 02125,  ¹REU student 2001, ²REU student 2002, and ³University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL, (617) 287-6669, William.hagar@umb.edu.

The amounts of stable carbon 13 (13C) and nitrogen 15 (15N) isotopes found in scale tissue were used to determine feeding behaviors of pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, and bluegill, L. macrochirus sunfish in two nearby ponds of differing pH and acid sensitivity in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.   Both sunfish species live and feed in similar habitats until their second year when they move into their specialized feeding niches of a water column planktivore (bluegills) or as a feeder on benthic gastropods (pumpkinseeds).  Sunfish were collected by seine net or by rod and reel from the ponds.  Fish collected from a particular area had 6- 8 scales removed, and were kept in a holding tank before being marked and released.  Scales were used to determine the age of the fish and, after processing, the amounts of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen they contained.  All collected aquatic organisms showed significantly higher d15N values in Furnace Pond than Maquan Pond.   Amphipods, Hyallela azteca (scuds), were used as the baseline organism for d15N and d13C in each pond.  Sunfish over two years old showed differences in d15N values.  In Furnace Pond, bluegills had significantly higher d15N as compared to pumpkinseeds.  This difference suggests different dietary preferences of bluegills and pumpkinseeds in Furnace Pond.   There was not the same separation of d15N values in the more acidic Maquan Pond.  Information from fish scale studies may elucidate not only the age of the fish, but also dietary differences between fish species.  

Is there individual variation in respiration rates of pre-smolt steelhead?  Melanie B. Bolduc* and Jeffrey A. Tyler, Jeffrey A., Worcester PolyTech Institute, Biology and Biotechnology Department, Worcester, MA  01609, melb@wpi.edu and tylerj@wpi.edu

Bioenergetics data collected on fish populations have shown large amounts of variation in fish respiration rates that are assumed to be random for a population.  Bioenergetics data are normally analyzed for the population as a whole, eliminating differences that may exist between individuals.  Also, bioenergetics models for salmonids focus mostly on the adult age class.  We collected data on respiration rates of two pre-smolt size classes of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss).  We tagged and identified all fish and measured the oxygen consumption rate of each individual five times at five different water temperatures over an eight week period.  Repeatedly measuring the respiration levels of each individual allowed us to test whether variation in respiration rates showed consistent differences between individuals.  Our results revealed significant variation in respiration rates of individuals of the same size at the same temperatures.  In addition, comparing respiration rates from our experiments to those predicted by previously developed bioenergetics models revealed important differences between the two.  The previous respiration models used data from adults which likely accounts for this difference.  We used these data to calibrate a new respiration model for pre-smolt steelhead.  The previous models made predictions that did not differ from our data importantly for the larger of our two size classes of steelhead.  However, the models developed from adult data performed poorly when predicting respiration rates of our small size class of fish.  The newly calibrated model corrects this problem. 

Wasting Energy to Save Lobsters.  Richard B. Allen, F/V Ocean Pearl, 35 Bliss Rd., Wakefield, RI 02879, (401) 789-1463, rballen@cox.net, www.LobsterConservation.com

Fishery resources are threatened by overfishing when the applied fishing effort is capable of removing more biomass than the stock can produce on a continuing basis.  Three methods of controlling fishing mortality and protecting the stock from overfishing are commonly used: 1) output controls in the form of an annual quota; 2) input controls such as trap limits, closed seasons, or limits on fishing days; and 3) technical measures such as minimum and maximum legal sizes and prohibitions on taking egg-bearing lobsters and lobsters marked with a v-notch in their tail.  For a variety of reasons, the protection of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, from the U.S. fishery relies almost entirely on technical measures.  From the late 1800s, when it first became evident that the lobster trap fishery could virtually exterminate the near-shore lobster population, the response to excessive fishing effort has been to make a larger fraction of the population illegal to land.  The effect of the rules has been to require lobstermen to throw back an ever-larger portion of their catch.  Logically, if fishing effort is not controlled, but control over the fishing mortality rate is necessary, then the proportion of the catch that must be discarded has to increase as the fishing effort increases. This has been accomplished in the lobster fishery through continuing increases in the minimum legal size, a maximum legal size in some fishing areas, the discarding of egg-bearing females, and strengthening of the v-notching rules.  In Area 2, the Lobster Restoration Project funded by the responsible parties to the North Cape Oil Spill is buying and v-notching female lobsters that would otherwise be sold.  Those lobsters then become discards when they are caught again.  There are proposals under consideration that would tighten the definition of a v-notch, making more of the population illegal.  Trap selectivity cannot be designed to eliminate the catch of v-notch lobsters, resulting in an increasing discard rate in Area 2 as the number of v-notch lobsters grows.  This presentation will use data from the Rhode Island lobster sea sampling program, along with a lobster business model developed by the author, to illustrate how a reliance on technical measures has the unintended result of requiring lobstermen to waste other valuable resources such as fuel and bait.  It will also demonstrate how alternative approaches to lobster management can conserve multiple resources, including lobsters.  By saving on inputs that are used to make a biologically equivalent harvest, lobstermen can better afford to support true conservation. 

Effects of Weather on the Performance of the NMFS NEFSC Bottom Survey Trawl: Preliminary Results.  Philip J. Politis*¹, Joseph DeAlteris¹, Russell Brown², and Archie T. Morrison III², ¹University of Rhode Island, Department of Fisheries, Building 50, East Farm, Kingston, RI 02881 and ²NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, (401) 714-6134, ppolitis@mail.uri.edu.

Performance of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) bottom survey trawl, conducted with a Yankee #36 bottom trawl net equipped with a roller sweep, may be affected by weather.  Vessel motion and bottom currents are driven by wind and waves at the sea surface.  The effects of vessel pitch, roll, and heave in response to sea conditions produce motion at the gallows frame, variable towing force on the trawl warps, and variable trawl motion on the seabed.  The acceleration and deceleration of the survey trawl on the seabed may affect its performance, possibly causing the sweep to periodically lose contact with the seabed and result in behavioral changes by fish swimming in the trawl mouth.  The goal of this research is to investigate the physical performance of the Yankee #36 bottom trawl in response to weather so as to develop specific guidelines for the cessation of survey operations when the effects of weather may compromise the performance of the trawl.

The performance characteristics of a standard Yankee #36 bottom trawl were tested during a February 2004 research cruise on the FRV Delaware II.  The trawl was instrumented with a SCANMAR acoustic net mensuration system to measure door spread, a MAVS-3 acoustic current meter mounted to the trawl head rope to measure currents at the net mouth, and an inclinometer sensor attached at the center of the trawl sweep to measure bottom contact.  Vessel motions (roll, pitch, heave) were measured by a T.S.S. vessel motion sensor mounted at the center of the vessel.  Local wave characteristics were observed and recorded during each tow.  Additional wave height measurements were obtained from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center.

Trawl performance was observed over a range of sea conditions with significant wave heights varying from ranging 1 to 5 meters.  Vessel motion caused by waves at the sea surface affected the motion of the trawl on the seabed.  Of the three components of vessel motion, pitch had the greatest affect on trawl performance and appeared to be controlling variations observed in the inclinometer data along and in the along-net velocity component measured by the MAVS current meter.  The along-net velocity changes in particular can be attributed to vessel pitch.  Velocity variations measured by the MAVS showed significant correlations to swell height, inclinometer angle, and vessel pitch and heave.  Weather conditions have a strong influence on dynamic net behavior which may alter the efficiency of a survey trawl net.
 

Population Structure and Reproductive Indices of Anadromous Alewife in Connecticut: Historical and Inter-Location Comparisons.  Justin Davis*¹ and Eric Schultz² , ¹Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-4087, Justin.P.Davis@huskymail.uconn.edu, and ²Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043.

There are concerns that some populations of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, commonly referred to as river herring, have substantially declined in Connecticut.  Current data on river herring populations is lacking.  Assessment of historic shifts in population structure may lend insight into processes that have contributed to population decline.  Limited data suggests that river herring spawning in major river watersheds have suffered more severe declines than those spawning in coastal stream systems. Inter-location comparisons of population structure and reproductive indices may help explain different levels of population decline.  River herring were sampled from Bride Brook, a coastal stream, and Roaring Brook, a tributary of the Connecticut River, in spring 2003 and 2004.  Weirs were placed in both streams from March-June 2003 and 2004 for total enumeration of the spawning run.  Weekly sampling was performed to assess population structure and reproductive indices.  Alewives spawning at Roaring Brook showed lower levels of reproductive indices than alewives spawning at Bride Brook.  The age distribution of alewives spawning at Bride Brook displayed a historic shift to younger fish.  The dominant age class of spawners at Bride Brook was younger in comparison to Roaring Brook.  Estimates of growth at Bride Brook showed little historic shift.  Male alewives and young female alewives at Roaring Brook exhibited faster growth than their counterparts at Bride Brook.  Preliminary results thus indicate historical and spatial variation in population structure and reproductive condition of river herring in Connecticut. 
 

The Effect of the Size Selection Characteristics of a Philippine Tuna Purse Seine on the Yield of the Fishery: Preliminary Results of Theoretical and Empirical Analyses.  Samuel Resma* and Joseph DeAlteris, Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, sresma@mail.uri.edu

The Philippine tuna purse seine fishery targets the three tuna species: skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). The purpose of our study is to determine the optimum mesh size in the bunt of the seine to maximize the sustainable yield of the multi-species fishery.  An empirical analysis was conducted that compared the catches of purse seine net that used two different mesh sizes in the bunt sections: 8.9 cm (3.5 in) and 12.7 cm (5.0 in).  Field measurements of the morphometric characteristics of the three species were used to develop functional relationships between length, weight, operculum, pre-dorsal and maximum girths, and body width.  An analysis of the selectivity characteristics of a purse seine was completed based on the individual species morphometric relationships and theoretical mesh retention characteristics of a seine.  Using this data along with the life history characteristics of the three target species, single and multi-species Yield per Recruit (YPR) and Spawning Stock Biomass per Recruit (SSBPR) analyses are being conducted.

Preliminary results of the catch comparison analysis indicate significant differences between the two nets, but the results are equivocal with respect to the hypothesis that the smaller mesh size catches more smaller fish. Significant morphometric relationships have been derived over a wide range of fish sizes for all three species.  Initial results of the single-species YPR analyses suggest the following ages at first capture and corresponding mesh sizes that will maximize YPR relative to the F0.1 reference point: skipjack, 1.4 yrs and 8.9 cm (3.5 in); yellowfin tuna, 3.3 yrs and 20.9 cm (8.2 in); and bigeye tuna, 3.4 yrs and 25.3 cm (10.0 in). The management dilemma for this multi-species fishery is that a minimum mesh size that permits the capture of skipjack will result in recruitment and growth overfishing of yellowfin and bigeye tuna, and conversely, a mesh size appropriate for yellowfin and bigeye tuna will result in minimal catch of skipjack. 

Further statistical analyses will fully evaluate the catch differences between the two nets. Multiple-factor ANOVAs will be performed to assess the effects of and interaction between and among the mesh sizes, months, species, weight classes and fishing vessels.  The optimum mesh size that will maximize the yield of the multi-species fishery given past, present and future relative abundance distributions of the three species will be determined.
 

Reconstructing Several Centuries of a Coastal Fish Population and its Fisheries.  Heather Fried* and Eric Schultz, Dept. Biology and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Connecticut, CT fried2@mindspring.com

Critical to effective management of any species is a thorough understanding of its biology and ecology, particularly how populations have responded to environmental change over time. We are constructing an environmental history of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in Connecticut and surrounding regions, including information on distribution, relative abundance, changes in critical habitat, and the economic benefits the species provided, using information available from Federal and State publications, as well newspaper and magazine reports. A regional population decline in rainbow smelt was identified during the latter part of the 19th century into the early 20th century in Connecticut. State records documenting an active commercial fishery, including state funded stock enhancement operations, in the early 20th century, but interest in this program seems to have waned as a result of continued stock declines. Recreational fishing activity persisted into the early 1970's but is presently inactive. Comparing the historical picture to our present will help to determine the reasons for the dramatic change to Connecticut's smelt population.
 

The Great White Shark of Naushon Island.  Gregory Skomal, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts Shark Research Program, P.O. Box 68, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, (508) 693-4372, (508) 693-4157 fax, Gregory.Skomal@state.ma.us 

On September 21, 2004, a great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, entered a shallow estuary on the private island of Naushon, Massachusetts.  The total length and weight of the shark was estimated to be 427cm (14 ft) and 773 kg (1,700 lbs), respectively.  Over the 14-day period that the shark remained in the embayment, fisheries biologists moved from passively hoping for the right combination of weather and tides to taking an active role to motivate the animal to leave.  First attempts to move the shark out of the estuary involved the less obtrusive use of methods that appealed to the shark's visual, chemosensory, and electrosensory capabilities.  Ultimately, it was the combination of a centuries old fishing practice and water pumps that herded the shark into open water.  Although the shark was tagged with a standard NMFS tag and a pop-up archival transmitting tag, the latter shed prematurely, dashing hopes that the movements of this elusive shark would be followed.  This presentation highlights the highs and lows of this rare event while providing a glimpse into the natural history of the great white shark in the western North Atlantic.
 

Pound Net and Sea Turtle Interactions in Chesapeake Bay, VA: Preliminary Results of a Bycatch Reduction Experiment.  Ryan Silva^*1, Joseph DeAlteris¹, and Henry Milliken², ¹Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881 and ²NOAA, NMFS, NEFSC, Protected Species Branch, Woods Hole, MA 02543, (808) 371-9872, silva_ryan@hotmail.com

Pound net leaders in Chesapeake Bay incidentally take endangered sea turtles. A modified pound net leader was tested in the southeastern portion of the Chesapeake Bay to determine their ability to reduce sea turtle bycatch, while maintaining the catch of the target finfish species. The bottom third of the modified leader was 20 cm diamond mesh, while the upper two thirds was made of vertical lines with a 60 cm separation.  The study was conducted from May 17, 2004 to June 28, 2004, on the lower bay side of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Six pound nets were involved in the study, four offshore nets and two inshore nets. All six nets were monitored twice a day using side scan SONAR and visual inspections to identify sea turtle/pound net interactions. The modified leaders were tested on offshore nets only, since these nets are responsible for the vast majority of sea turtle bycatch.

Six hardshell turtles and one leatherback turtle were observed interacting with the offshore pound net leaders over the course of the study. All six of the hardshell turtles were observed in the traditional leader and the one leatherback turtle was observed in the experimental leader. Preliminary results of a Chi-Square analysis of sea turtle/pound net interactions found no significant difference between the two leader types when the sample unit was defined as a daily set of observations. The sea turtle-pound net interactions are infrequent events, making definitive statistical analyses with relatively limited observations problematic. Catch weight and length frequency distributions of targeted finfish species between the two leader types were compared. Samples from offshore nets were taken each time they were harvested, and were expanded to total daily catches. Catch weights by species from nets that had different leader types and were fished on the same schedule were compared using a paired T-test to evaluate the effect of leader design on catch performance of the pound nets. No significant differences in catch weights were detected for the principal commercial species, and the length frequency distributions of the catches were similar.

In conclusion, while a single leatherback sea turtle was taken in the experimental leader, the sea turtle interaction rate was six fold higher in the control or traditional leader, so we consider the results promising.  Additionally, there were no apparent differences in the catch rates of the traditional and experimental leaders for the target finfish species, suggesting no loss of revenue to the fishermen for implementation of this bycatch reduction strategy.
 

Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) Stock Identification Using External Morphometrics.  Karen L. Bolles*, Natural Resources Conservation, Holdsworth Natural Resources Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, (774) 268-9031, kbolles@forwild.umass.edu 

The main research goal is to identify a technique that will effectively discriminate Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) stocks in the northwest Atlantic based on external morphometrics obtained from image analysis software.  Once a technique is identified it can be tested and used in in-season herring assessments to predict or determine levels of stock mixing, thus potentially improving herring management.

Downstream Passage of Migrating Silver-Phase American eel Anguilla rostrata at a Hydroelectric Dam.  Brian Eltz*, A. Haro, and T. Castro-Santos.  S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, Biological Resource Discipline, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 796, Turners Falls, MA 01376, beltz@forwild.umass.edu

In the past two decades, American eel declines have been observed in North America. Hydroelectric facilities are believed to be one of the major contributing factors to their decline because they impair downstream movement during reproductive migration. During the fall of 2004, radio telemetry receivers were deployed at a small (2MW) hydroelectric facility, Rainbow Dam (12.9-rkm), on the Farmington River in Windsor, Connecticut. Antennas were also installed in the fishway and downstream bypass to record passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Twenty-four silver-phase American eels were intercepted in the Farmington River drainage, and an additional six were captured at the Holyoke Dam (Connecticut River, 140-rkm). A total of thirty eels were collected and surgically tagged with radio and PIT tags before eels were released 6.4 km upstream of the Rainbow Dam. Downstream movements of 29 out of 30 eels were detected at the dam; routes of passage and residence time were examined. Eels frequently made several attempts to pass the dam and although the time of passage was variable, the majority of eel movement occurred at night. All telemetered eels passed via the turbines.

Early and Late Migration Strategies of Juvenile Anadromous River Herring.  Joseph Iafrate* and Kenneth Oliveira, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dept. of Biology, 285 Old Westport Rd., North Dartmouth, MA 02747, (508) 999-8227, jiafrate@yahoo.com

Juvenile anadromous river herring (alewives Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring Alosa aestivalis) spend 3-7 months in freshwater before migrating to the ocean, often exhibiting waves of early and late migrators.  Migratory patterns and associated biotic factors were examined for both species migrating in 2003 from Herring River in Bourne Massachusetts.  Migrating herring were grouped into two temporal periods (early and late for alewives) and separated by species.  Differences in body composition (total length, weight, water content, ash content, ash-free dry matter, condition factor), age, growth rate, and hatch date were examined.  Migrating blueback exhibited a single migratory period (late Sept-October) which occurred between the early and late migratory pulses of the alewives.  All migrating bluebacks were of similar size and weight.  Late migrating alewives had significantly greater mean lengths and weights but hatched later than early migrators.  Early migrators had greater variation in length (CV = 16% vs 8.5%) and weight (CV= 50.6% vs 27.3%) than late migrators.  These patterns may represent distinct migration strategies between early and late migrating alewives and between the two species of river herring.  Early migration may be a mechanism by which factors such as competition and low food availability are mitigated.  Whereas environmental conditions during the post hatching time of late migrators may allow for a size maximizing strategy promoting migration from the nursery area as late as possible. 

Best Practices and Established Aquatic Resources Education Programs: Evaluate Until You Drop.  George J. Babey, Supervising Fisheries Biologist, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT  06106-5127, (860)424-3481, george.babey@po.state.ct.us

The Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education (CARE) program has been in continuous operation for 18 years, using various methods to teach students about water, fish and fishing.  Training in 2003 on the use of Best Practices immediately preceded development of a 5-year plan of work.  This helped bridge a gap created by a failed attempt to launch a formal program evaluation one year earlier.  About 70 Best Practices were immediately integrated into the new plan, helping form the optimal combination of approaches needed to achieve program goals.  Best Practices already in use are being continued.  Where new ones could be integrated into our system over the next 5 years, they will be.  Best Practices were instrumental in guiding the development and implementation of program modifications.  Internal and external needs assessment activities, evaluation techniques and current research will be emphasized with specific examples provided where appropriate.
 

NOAA Fisheries Proactive Conservation Program.  Kimberly Damon-Randall, National Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA  01930, (978) 281-9328 x6535, kimberly.damon-randall@noaa.gov

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is undertaking a public outreach effort to increase awareness of and involvement in issues related to the proactive conservation of Species of Concern.  NOAA Fisheries' Species of Concern include: (1) species for which there are concerns regarding danger of extinction or risk of becoming endangered or threatened, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the ESA; and (2) species for which an ESA biological status review has determined that listing under the ESA is "not warranted" at this time, but for which significant concerns or uncertainties remain regarding their extinction risk and/or threats.  The goal of the Species of Concern list is to act proactively to protect and conserve these species before listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is warranted.  Previously, all of these species were known as "candidate species."  However, in an attempt to eliminate confusion between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' definition of candidate species and NOAA Fisheries' definition, in 2004, NOAA Fisheries published a notice which served to clarify the purposes of the list and provided clear definitions for the terms candidate species and Species of Concern.

NOAA Fisheries is striving to work cooperatively with states and interest groups to obtain the information necessary to evaluate species status and threats.  As part of this effort to increase awareness regarding Species of Concern and garner information from various stakeholders on species potentially at risk, in August 2004, NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Regional Office sponsored a workshop entitled "Getting the Word Out: NOAA Fisheries' Proactive Conservation Program."  The primary goal of this workshop was to develop local partnerships and gain public support in the shared stewardship of Species of Concern. Through this workshop, NOAA Fisheries also gained input and insights from the participants regarding the process by which a species is identified as a Species of Concern and added to the list.  NOAA Fisheries will be publishing an informational booklet, which will contain fact sheets and distribution maps for each of the current Species of Concern located in the Northeast Region.  These booklets will be distributed at the Southern New England Chapter meeting.

Probabilistic-based Genetic Assignment model (PGA):  Sub-continent of origin assignments of the West Greenland Atlantic salmon catch.  Timothy F. Sheehan¹, Christopher M. Legault¹, Adrian Spidle² and Timothy L. King³.  ¹National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA USA, ²Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, 6730 Martin Way East, Olympia, WA 98512 USA, and ³United States Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, 11649 Leetown Road, Leetown, WV 25430 USA.

An Atlantic salmon multi-stock fishery, exploiting both North American and European origin fish, occurs off the coast of West Greenland.    Annual reported landings peaked in the early 1970s at approximately 2,700 metric tons, but have since declined to a low of 12 metric tons in 2003.  A multi-national program was initiated in 1966 to sample the catch and better understand its national composition.  Prior to 1995, scale pattern analysis was used to determine continent of origin, but subsequently multilocus genotypes generated via microsatellite DNA analysis have been utilized.  Genetic techniques are such that the possibility now exists for determining the origin of an Atlantic salmon at very fine scales of resolution (i.e., individual rivers).  We developed a Probabilistic-based Genetic Assignment model (PGA), which takes into account the uncertainty associated with these finer scale assignments.  We applied our model to the genetic data obtained during the 2000-2003 fisheries.  We partitioned the catch by continent of origin and then assigned country of origin for the North American fish.  Adult return data from United States rivers were then used to probabilistically partition the U.S. assigned estimates to an even finer scale.  The PGA accounts for uncertainty in genetic assignments by correcting data according to estimated misclassification rates and by reporting results as distributions rather than point estimates.  Our work represents the first attempt to use genetic data to partition the North American component of the West Greenland mixed-stock complex fishery to individual populations.  This approach can be used to identify the effects of fishing on individual stocks within a multi-stock complex.

* Denotes student presentation.