Evaluating Alternate Management Strategies for Spotted Seatrout (<i>Cynoscion nebulosus</i>) in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico

<p>Spotted Seatrout (<em>Cynoscion nebulosus</em>) receive considerable fishing pressure as the most popular saltwater target species in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The potential for alternate management strategies, including stock enhancement and reducing discard mortality, to support the sustainability of the stocks and the desires of stakeholders is unknown. The purpose of this study was to provide an objective evaluation of the efficacy of alternate management strategies for Spotted Seatrout in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. I used a management strategy evaluation (MSE) to measure the performance of 18 alternate management scenarios relative to control scenarios. Scenarios with a high hatchery input exhibited the highest expected benefit to the stock and fishery in each state; reducing discard mortality had a substantially lesser predicted effect. MSE model results indicated that the expected outcome of alternate management strategies was highly variable by state in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Characteristics of the stock and fishery in the three states provided information to describe the observed geographic variability in MSE model results. States with a large stock size such as Louisiana exhibited the lowest potential benefit from the management alternatives evaluated. Key fishery characteristics included the proportion of fishing mortality due to discarding, and the minimum length limit imposed by managers. Results from this study provide insights regarding the optimal management of Spotted Seatrout in the north-central Gulf of Mexico.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Jermain, Nathaniel Wallace

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Leaf
• Wei Wu
• Eric Powell

• Management Strategy Evaluation
• Stock Assessment
• Spotted Seatrout
• Stock Enhancement
• Discard Mortality
• Population Dynamics
• Marine Biology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/624

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1679