Fishery and Population Dynamics of Mississippi’s Spotted Seatrout

<p>Spotted Seatrout (<em>Cynoscion nebulosus</em>) is the most popular recreational inshore fishery in Mississippi coastal waters. Because of the popularity of Spotted Seatrout in Mississippi as a recreational target and the magnitude of harvest, quantitative approaches to describe the population and fishery dynamics of the Mississippi stock are needed to continue the sustainability of the stock. Quantitative approaches to describing stock dynamics are useful because they can help describe population characteristics, assess the current status of the stock, and be used to evaluate alternative management strategies. In this thesis, I use a suite of quantitative methods to describe, evaluate, and assess the population and fishery dynamics of the Mississippi Spotted Seatrout stock. Specifically, I describe the Spotted Seatrout length-at-age relationship using a multi-model approach, evaluate the potential effects of different management regimes on the yield, reproductive output, and length structure on the Mississippi Spotted Seatrout stock, and evaluate the status of the Mississippi Spotted Seatrout stock using a statistical catch-at-age model. The results of this project can be used to better inform and support the management of Spotted Seatrout in Mississippi.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Dippold, David Arthur

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Leaf
• Mark Peterson
• Read Hendon

• marine fisheries
• population dynamics
• Gulf of Mexico
• tag-recapture
• Population Biology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/174

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1200