Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area
Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area
Gervelis B, Kneebone J. 2022. Passive acoustic telemetry as a tool to monitor the baseline presence and persistence of highly migratory fish species in popular recreational fishing grounds within the southern New England wind energy area. Newport (RI): U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 40 p. Agreement No.: M20AC00006. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2022-059.
The offshore waters of southern New England serve as important feeding grounds and migratory corridors for numerous highly migratory pelagic fish species (HMS; sharks, tunas, billfish) that inhabit the U.S. East Coast. In addition to containing Essential Fish Habitat for at least 14 HMS, this region also supports extensive recreational fisheries for HMS in which hundreds of active vessels participate each year. Much of that recreational fishing effort is also concentrated on popular fishing grounds that are within areas leased for offshore wind development. Despite this ecological and economic importance, little attention or effort has been paid to assessing baseline conditions or the potential impacts of offshore wind activity on HMS and recreational HMS fisheries in the region. To address these deficiencies, we conducted a two-year pilot study during the summers of 2020 and 2021 to demonstrate the utility of passive acoustic telemetry to directly monitor the presence, persistence, and movements of recreationally-important HMS in and around popular recreational fishing locations within the MA/RI Wind Energy Area. We focused acoustic transmitter deployments on commonly captured HMS and monitored their presence with a stationary array of acoustic receivers. A total of 60 individuals of five different species were tagged, 35 of which were detected within the receiver array periodically from June to November in each year. Eight individuals tagged in 2020 returned to the array in 2021. 206 unique transmitters deployed by other researchers were also detected within the receiver array. The results of this study demonstrate the capabilities of passive acoustic telemetry to effectively collect baseline data on the presence, persistence, movements, and habitat use of HMS within the southern New England WEA.
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Chicago
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior Department. "Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area". Government. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, January 1, 2022. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-I-96ce36f1606a3edb19bd28ffc5e3a039
APA
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior Department. (2022, January 1). Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area. [Government]. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-I-96ce36f1606a3edb19bd28ffc5e3a039
MLA
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior Department. Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, (1 Jan 2022), https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-I-96ce36f1606a3edb19bd28ffc5e3a039
Bluebook
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior Department, Passive Acoustic Telemetry as a Tool to Monitor the Baseline Presence and Persistence of Highly Migratory Fish Species in Popular Recreational Fishing Grounds Within the Southern New England Wind Energy Area, GovInfo, (January 1, 2022), https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-I-96ce36f1606a3edb19bd28ffc5e3a039
