R-04-02 Environmental controls on shrimp recruitment dynamics

David Townsend
School of Marine Sciences
Aubert Hall 355
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469
207.581.4367
davidt@maine.edu

Lewis Incze
Bioscience Research Institute
University of Southern Maine
96 Falmouth St.
Portland, ME 04106
207.228.8070
lincze@usm.maine.edu

Daniel Schick
Bureau of Resource Management
Department of Marine Resources
West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575
207.633.9528
dan.schick@maine.gov

The northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis, is an important commercial fishery of the Gulf of Maine that takes place primarily during the shrimp’s winter-spring inshore migration period. Little is known about the planktonic larval stage of shrimp in the Gulf of Maine, and natural processes that might contribute to recruitment and commercial stock size are poorly understood. Currently, shrimp stock assessments sometimes differ greatly from the actual commercial catch. This study expanded on research funded by the Northeast Consortium to investigate environmental influences on shrimp movements and aggregations, and how those patterns of behavior overlap with winter plankton communities at different locations and over time. The researchers expanded the collection of hydrographic data and begin the necessary plankton sampling and analyses.

2-year project, 2004-2006
Year 1: $74,000
Year 2: $74,000
Total : $148,000