Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE Suffolk County) Marine Program’s Alex Mercado and Michael Bowen, in collaboration with New York commercial fishers, are leading a nearly $164,000 study to examine the effects of LED lights in fishery pots targeting Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) in New York. The funding is part of New York Sea Grant’s (NYSG) latest suite of two year research projects – administered by NYSG and funded through the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sea Grant’s federal parent agency.
Commercial fish harvesters in New York have increasingly been shifting their target species from lobster to Jonah crab due to changing species populations. The transition to this fishery may be aided by using a product called PotLights, which is effective in other crab pot fisheries.
“We hope that this project will help us to identify additional strategies for fishermen to utilize in their day-to-day operations,” Mercado said. “If successful, the use of cost-effective LED lights to supplement natural bait would be both ecologically and economically beneficial.”
Successful results will economically benefit the fishing industry by reducing bait expenses for fishers while reducing harvest pressure on bait species such as herring, menhaden, and skate.
CCE Suffolk County’s Dr. Stephen Tettelbach and Harrison Tobi are also assisting Stony Brook University investigators in a $240,000 study to determine parasite distribution and dynamics in the environment and identify potential reservoirs of bay scallop Marosporida. The project will also evaluate how temperature regulates disease dynamics and the persistence of parasite cells in the environment and characterize the genetic diversity of the parasite to test if the current outbreak is a result of the emergence of a highly virulent strain.
In addition to the research at CCE Suffolk County, a $240,000 project led by Cornell University Dr. Ruth Richardson and Dr. Jose Andres will develop eDNA (DNA found in the environment)-based tools to simultaneously survey multiple risks in NY Great Lakes coastal waters. New York Sea Grant is also funding a $240,000 project to gain insights into the benefits of restoring native fish to the functioning of the Lake Ontario food web and value to sport fisheries led by Cornell researchers Dr. Lars Rudstam, Dr. James Watkins, and Dr. Suresh Sethi.
