SCeMFiS-funded graduate student Taylor Daley, as well as her major professor, Dr. Robert Leaf, had the opportunity to travel to Lund’s Fisheries Inc. to obtain fish for study.  Weight and length measurements from 863 Atlantic Chub Mackerel (Scomber Colias) were taken on-site and data will be used to describe weight-at-length characteristics.  Otoliths were collected from approximately 400 fish from a wide distribution of size classes. Muscle tissue for stable isotope analysis, gonads for histology, and stomach samples for diet analysis were also collected.

Leaf and Daley also met with Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison for Seafreeze, and toured Seafreeze facilities to obtain fishery independent data from this company and arrange the logistics of sample delivery. A total of 524 of fish were measured and weighed following established protocols. Seafreeze also provided Dr. Leaf’s group with reports for Atlantic chub mackerel, which will allow examination of the length frequency of fishes sampled by this company.

In September 2016 Taylor traveled to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA to collaborate with NOAA age and growth expert Dr. Eric Robillard. Dr. Robillard agreed to partner on the project and provide technical support. Daley and Robillard derived an effective method of processing and analyzing otoliths. A total of 364 otoliths were selected from a representative range (all size classes represented) of size classes for each month sampled. The remainder of otoliths were processed (cleaned, mounted, and polished) for another trip to Woods Hole in March 2017.

Taylor is also involved in an international otolith exchange. She has made connections with international (Spanish, Portuguese, and Canary Islands) experts in Chub Mackerel age and growth description. It is intended that the information sharing performed on the webinar will greatly assist in reaching the objectives of the project as well as giving SCEMFIS a global reach. Dr. Leaf has funded Taylor Daley to complete training in histology from Nancy-Brown Peterson. The description of the reproductive characteristics of Chub Mackerel is a research objective. Daley is half way through processing the first 100 samples. 31 muscle tissue samples have been processed and are ready for stable isotope analysis (another research objective).