Tony Marshak, 2014 NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss FellowNOAA Fisheries Service, Office of Science and Technology

Incorporating Habitat Science into the Assessment & Management of Fishery Stocks

Caribbean Fishery Management CouncilAugust 13, 2014

Outline

1. Habitat Assessment Improvement Plan

2. Habitat Assessment Prioritization of Stocks

3. Inshore/Offshore Pilot Projects

4. Regional Habitat Science and LMRs

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The HAIP defines NMFS’ role in pursuing habitat science, and in developing habitat assessments to meet its mandated responsibility to sustain marine fisheries and associated habitats.

Fisheries Habitat Science Working Group

A habitat assessment is the process/products associated with the best available information on habitat characteristics relative to the population dynamics of fishery species and other LMRs.

The ultimate goal of a habitat assessment is to determine the function of habitats in relation to fishery production and ecosystems

This supports management decisions that are a mandated responsibility of NOAA

Habitat Assessment Improvement Plan3

HAIP Recommendations4

Engage partners within and outside of NOAA

Develop habitat science budget/staffing initiatives

Initiate demonstration projects incorporating habitat data into stock assessments

Convene regional and national habitat science workshops

Develop a NOAA-wide strategic plan for habitat science

Prioritize stocks & geographical locations for habitat assessment

(HAIP) Habitat Assessment Prioritization

NMFS should develop criteria to prioritize stocks and geographic locations that would benefit from habitat science and assessment

NMFS should identify and prioritize data inadequacies for stocks and their respective habitats, as relevant to information gaps identified in the HAIP

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Habitat Assessment Prioritization

Stock prioritization results are intended to help guide:

Science planning

Funding allocation

Prioritization now complete for SW & NW; in progress for PI, NE, and AK

Efforts are beginning for the SE region with all three councils

Knowing council research priorities would help greatly in these prioritizations

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Initial Pool of Stocks (FMP)

Stocks meeting

Filter Criteria

High Priority

Stocks for Habitat Science

Medium Priority

Stocks for Habitat Science

Low Priority

Stocks for Habitat Science

Filter Criteria (Y/N)

Scorable Criteria

Prioritization Process

Stocks not meeting

Filter Criteria

Habitat ScientistsEcologistsStock Assessment Scientists

FSSI stock or Council research priority

Likely to benefit a stock assessment (and inform EFH)

Benefit to stock assessment survey or model

Fisheries status (e.g. overfished)

Habitat disturbance, vulnerability, and rarity

Habitat dependence Ecological importance Economic, social, managerial

value

Filter Criteria (Y/N)

Scorable Criteria, 0 – 5 pts each

Stock Assessment Improvement

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Initial Pool of Stocks (FMP)

Stocks meeting Minimum Criteria

High Priorit

y Stock

s

Medium

Priority

Stocks

Low Priorit

y Stock

s

Stocks not

meeting

Minimum

Criteria

Filter Criteria

Scorable Criteria

Hypothetical list of prioritized stocks

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Regional Habitat Science and LMRs

NMFS Inshore/Offshore Pilot Projects

NMFS Pacific Groundfish Habitat Mapping (EFH)

Queen conch habitat-stock abundance surveys

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“Habitat is the currency for Ecosystem Based Management” – Michael Parke, PIFSC

Inshore/Offshore Pilot Projects

2nd National Habitat Assessment Workshop (NHAW2): Understanding the link between inshore habitat and offshore fisheries production has been identified as a high priority knowledge gap

Three pilot projects jointly funded by OST & OHC

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North Atlantic Pilot Project

Restoring Access to Diadromous Fish Habitat and Linkages to Forage Fish Biomass in the North Atlantic Large Marine EcosystemDrs. Wes Patrick (OSF), Tom Miller (U Maryland), and JP Walsh (E Carolina University)

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Goal: Predict long-term biological and sociological benefits of restoring diadromous fish habitat

Progress: Historic ranges and abundances of American shad and river herring show substantial declines from pristine conditions as a loss of habitat quality and accessibility over time.

Mid-Atlantic Pilot Project

Parameterizing the Relationship Between Inshore Habitat Quantity and Quality and Summer Flounder ProductionDrs. Howard Townsend (NCBO), Tom Ihde (NCBO), David Stevenson (GARFO), and John Manderson (NEFSC)

Goal: To provide habitat managers with methods to quantify the cumulative impacts of inshore habitat loss and degradation on the survival/production of juvenile summer flounder.

Progress: Using the Chesapeake Atlantis Model (CAM) and datasets compiled from ASMFC’s Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Program, scientists are finding that marsh loss strongly impacts forage fish.

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West Coast Pilot Project

Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership Nursery AssessmentPMEP Steering Committee and Assessment Team (Kristan Blackhart, Dr. Correigh Greene, Korie Schaefer, John Bragg et al.)

Goals: Identify key threats and limiting factors to juvenile fish, and describe the role of nearshore habitats to offshore stock recruitment.

Progress: Inventory and classification of West Coast estuaries is complete, and spatial framework is being further refined to support modeling. Ongoing collection of data on fish abundance and habitat quantity/quality. A State of the Knowledge Report on 15 species that utilize estuary nursery habitats will be available in September 2014.

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Estuary characteristicsAmount of habitatTemperature Dissolved oxygenUrbanizationFish characteristicsAbundanceDistance from estuaryRecruitment size

Adaptation for inshore-offshore work

Hypothetical abundance of an estuarine or nearshore nursery

species

Offshore abunda

nce

Estuary characteri

stic

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Groundfish EFH

Habitat-based predictions of distribution and abundance

This is being used to refine five-year EFH designations with the council

Mapping of Pacific groundfish habitat16

Queen Conch Surveys

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- Determine conch locations with transect GPS start/endpoints

- Time of encounter Distance

- Habitat, depth, conch size/stage - GIS Spatial Analyst Density calculator

GIS Plotting of Conch Stock Surveys

θ

tan-1 y/x = θ

D cos, sin θ = x, y

D

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1995-96 Densities

Marshak et al. 2006 Proc. GCFIMarshak 2009 SEAMAP Report

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2006 Densities

• Identification of locations important to the life history of PR queen conch

• Demonstrate spatial dynamics of the stock and potential areas for protection

• Can enhance EBFM

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Conclusions

NOAA continues to make advancements in the incorporation of habitat into stock assessment and monitoring

Continued initiatives and support for habitat science will enhance stock management and EBFM

Habitat prioritization of stocks is being initiated for the SE region, including council priorities

Spatial analyses and habitat science can be applied to the management of Caribbean stocks

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More Information22

Science and Technology Habitat Science:

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st4/HabitatScience.html

Habitat Assessment Improvement Plan

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/ecosystems/habitat/plans/haip/index

NOAA Habitat Blueprint:

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/habitatblueprint/index.html

Habitat Science Pilot Projects:

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/ecosystems/habitat/funding/projects/index

THANK YOU!