Shellfish Research
Ocean quahog population dynamics: project completion
Lead PI: Kelsey Kuykendall, USM. There is a huge amount of unique and valuable information from several projects. Data including growth increments and length at age measurements from five different research projects. Images used in age-frequency projects (over 5000). Estimated ~$2 million invested in collecting this data over time. In its current state, the data exists as separate files used in each project. The objective of this project is to collate and assemble all data into a common database that is accessible.
Ocean quahog data files – This database is divided into directories by researcher. Directories for each researcher are complete collections that may include raw data or backups and outdated versions. Please see the metadata document for more information.
Developing process and procedures for the refinement of surf clam and ocean quahog shells into calcium carbonate
Lead PI: Alirezza Abbaspourrad, Cornell University. Handling and managing shells from shucking operations of clams and ocean quahogs for existing utilization consumes significant supply chain resources. Finding ways to identify more effective end-uses represents an important sustainability advancement. The project, headed by Dr. Alireza Abbaspourrad (Cornell University), focuses on turning shell waste into a value-added product, contributing to blue economy efforts and promoting sustainability.
Retention of Expertise in SS-III and evaluation of past and predictive modeling of future stock status
Stock assessments for ocean quahog and surfclams rely on a specific modeling tool, the Stock Synthesis V3. The project, from Drs. Eric Powell (University of Southern Mississippi) and Roger Mann (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) will recruit a Ph.D. student to train to use the model, with the goal of maintaining scientific expertise in using and understanding it.
Could federal wind farms influence continental shelf oceanography and alter shellfish larval dispersal? A literature review
With over 1.7 million acres of federal waters under lease for wind energy development, new wind energy structures have a significant potential to interfere with ocean conditions, including in critical areas such as how shellfish larvae are dispersed. The project, by Dr. Daphne Munroe of Rutgers University, will review existing literature to determine how wind energy development has affected different oceanographic conditions, and prepare a report on these findings for the public.
Development of an ocean quahog recruitment index (shell aging)
Lead PI: Eric Powell (USM): Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) are extremely long lived. Although the NMFS-NEFSC survey time series began in 1980, most of the animals fished were born prior to that time. Consequently, recruitment dynamics for this stock are very poorly understood. Establishing that the current fishery is sustainable requires information on the recruitment dynamics of ocean quahogs over the last 200 years. This can be reconstructed from the age frequency of the population. This project will develop the first age frequencies for ocean quahogs in the northwest Atlantic, with study sites off New Jersey, Long Island, Nantucket, and on Georges Bank.
- Uncovering the Life Cycle of the Ocean Quahog Can Balance Economic and Ecologic Goals
- Development of an Age-Frequency Distribution for Ocean Quahogs (Arctica islandica) on Georges Bank – Sara Pace, Journal of Shellfish Research
- Evidence of Multidecadal Recruitment in the Ocean Quahog, Arctica Islandica in the Western Atlantic Ocean – Sara Pace, USM Master’s Thesis
Development of management options for surfclams
Lead PI: Eric Powell (USM). The recent benchmark assessment for surfclams considered a two-stock option for surfclams that was rejected by the Stock Assessment Review Committee. Nevertheless, the continued influence of Mid-Atlantic Bight warming on the distribution of the surfclam stock suggests that a range of management options may need to be reviewed. SCEMFIS will examine this issue and recommend options to the IAB. SCEMFIS scientists identified management options that will increase LPUE and also increase stock productivity and stock abundance in the Mid-Atlantic region, while maintaining landings at present quota levels.
Generation of GIS layers for Nantucket and Georges Bank closed areas
Lead PIs: Eric Powell (USM) & Roger Mann (VIMS): Fishing has been restricted in two areas by the creation of Habitat Management Areas (HMAs), one off Nantucket Shoals (NS) and one on Georges Bank (GB). The SCEMFIS team will analyze NMFS survey data and data from the fishing fleet operating in the NS/GB region to provide improved differentiation between habitat of concern and high-energy sands supporting surfclam production. These analyses will provide information on subregions in the HMAs supporting live market-size surfclams and regions of complex habitat as evidenced by the presence of untowable bottom, location of reported dredge damage, and locations where the survey dredge caught cobbles, rocks, and boulders.
- Growth and longevity in surfclams east of Nantucket: Range expansion in response to the post-2000 warming of the North Atlantic – Powell et al 2020
- An overview of factors affecting distribution of the Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima), a continental shelf biomass dominant, during a period of climate change – Hoffman et al 2018
- Growth and Longevity in Surfclams East of Nantucket – Powell & Mann, 2018
- Further Evaluation of the Relationship of Cobbles and Rocks to Surfclams – Powell, 2018
- Update to the Nantucket Survey and The “East of Nantucket” Survey (DOI reference)
- The death assemblage as a marker for habitat and an indicator of climate change: Georges Bank surfclams and ocean quahogs
- Analysis of ancillary survey data and surfclam fishery tow data for the Georges Shoals Habitat Management Area on Georges Bank and the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area
DATA:
- GIS Data (zip), Layers(zip) and Files (.docx). Space delimited ASCII with self explantory headers. Each station represents the same area, given the domain of the survey (about 29.4 km2.) ASCII Data
Support of the Survey Design Working Group for the NMFS Clam Survey
Lead PI: Eric Powell (USM). This project will undertake a reappraisal of the clam quahog survey sampling design which has not previously been evaluated with respect to the relationship between sample number and stock patchiness. This issue is uniquely important for the entirety of the continental shelf benthic biota, not just the commercial clam species. Additional funding will also provide support for 2 members of the working group to attend meetings.
Report: Improving the NEFSC Clam Survey for Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog
– 61st Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (61st SAW) Assessment Report
(61NE_SAWclam_assessment) (NEFSC access to sections)
There is a new issue (CRD 17-10) of the Center Reference Document Series entitled 63rd Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (63rd SAW) Assessment Report, by the NEFSC
Dameron-Kubiak Dredge Project
A fundamental challenge in marine benthic ecology and fishery assessment is to quantitatively collect small infaunal (within the sediment) target species that have non-uniform distribution and/or low mean density (number per unit area). Clams are a prime example of such a species. Previously available sampling gear was either grabs or cores that are limited in sample area and thus had high statistical probability of missing target species with low density; or lined dredges capable of covering large areas (integrating density) but with high retention of accompanying sediment and damage to the target species. The lined dredge also presented non-trivial challenges in deployment and retrieval in that a sediment-filled dredge can weigh several tons, thus challenging winches and creating the opportunity for marginal safety conditions for on-deck crew. SCeMFiS industry members designed and fabricated a research dredge with variable bar spacing (ability to change target size of species under examination) and in situ sample washing capability (wash sediment from the sample as it is collected on the sea floor). The dredge design was finalized between March and May 2014, fabricated in May-July 2014, and tested at sea in August 2014. The dredge performance exceeded expectations, providing high sample retention with little sample damage in a very safe and tractable operating environment. The dredge was tested on two fishery target species – surfclams and ocean quahogs – and proved to be comparable in retention efficiency to previously used lined dredges but with greater ease of use and far less retention of sediment. Increased retention also demonstrated heretofore undescribed localized high densities of pre-recruit-to-fishery-size clams – a positive demonstration of sustainable management success. The dredge was named the Dameron-Kubiak dredge after its designer (Captain T. Dameron) and lead fabricator (Mr. Kubiak) The new dredge was employed as a standard selectivity and juvenile survey dredge in the 2015 NEFSC survey and is anticipated to be a primary survey tool indefinitely into the future.
– Powerpoint Presentation of Dameron-Kubiak Dredge Development
– Design of a Dredge for Collection of Juvenile Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs