Fisheries Take

Monitoring Objectives

• Compile data from existing data sources related to commercial and recreational fisheries take (finfish and shellfish) in waters inside and adjacent to park boundaries. Determine the status and trends of commercial and recreational fisheries take in waters inside and adjacent to park boundaries.

Background
Important recreational and commercial fisheries in the southeastern United States include fin- and shell-fish harvesting (particularly shrimp, spiny lobster, oyster, clam, stone crab, and conch). The penaeid shrimp fishery, is both extensive and extremely valuable. The southeast region’s shrimp fisheries are one of the most valuable U.S. fisheries based on ex-vessel revenue. Some fisheries, such as those for spiny lobster and stone crab, have only moderate value on a national basis but are important locally or regionally. Because of the diversity in species, fisheries, geographic locations, yields, values, etc., each species group in the marine invertebrates unit must be examined separately for proper perspective.

Fisheries can potentially affect park resources in two ways. First, take of the resources offshore could potentially alter ecosystems and the availability of resources for recreational or non-commercial purposes. Second, indirect effects due to access, and activities relating to operating the fisheries can have negative effects on water or habitat quality within parks. To date neither of these potential agents of change have been studied in SECN parks.

Monitoring Approach
The basic approach of the Fisheries Take protocol will be ( wherever possible) to focus on making existing data sources on consumptive uses more readily available to park managers. The primary task of the network will be to facilitate the acquisition and formatting of the data for park managers’ use on an annual basis.

The various States (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) within the network manage data that provide considerable information about fish and wildlife harvest in SECN parks. However, not all fish and wildlife is harvested under state regulations; there is a parallel set of federal fish and wildlife regulations that have a separate and different database. These databases need to be collected and templates for their use developed.

Parks Where Protocol Will be Implemented
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA), Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO), Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS), Canaveral National Seashore (CANA), Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve (TIMU), Fort Matanzas National Monument (FOMA), Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR), Fort Sumter National Monument (FOSU) and Fort Pulaski National Monument (FOPU)

Principal Investigator
Christina Wright, Ecologist / Science Information Specialist