ECU awarded $3.5 million to study fish spawning, conservation in the Gulf
East Carolina University is prioritizing long-term sustainability of the Gulf Coast ecosystem and fisheries through a new $3.5 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restore Science Program grant.
Dr. Rebecca Asch, associate professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology, will lead a team of investigators on the research through September 2030.
She said it was exciting and a relief to hear that the project is receiving funding. The team worked on the proposal for nearly 18 months and believes the study will be important for the fishing and tourism industries.
Asch calibrates a piece of lab equipment, known as a YSI Exo sonde, to ensure sensors are working properly before deployment in the Gulf Coast. The equipment will monitor water quality and environmental conditions of fish spawning habitats, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH and chlorophyll concentration.
Asch is studying fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) in the Gulf and the long-term suitability of these habitats. She will work closely with other scientists and managers at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, which is about 100 miles off the coast of Texas and Louisiana, and the Gulf Council, among other partners, to verify, monitor and model FSAs, and facilitate their management and conservation.
At ECU, Charles Veith, a student in the Integrated Coastal Sciences doctoral program, and Brian Bartlett, a postdoctoral scholar in biology, will assist Asch on the project. The team will meet in March to discuss species they feel are important. Asch said they have a general idea of what types of fish species they may encounter, but they will also study species that play a key role in the fishing and tourism industry.
“Spawning aggregations are essential for fish populations. They are special places where most of the reproduction of the species happens, and without protection, that reproduction is likely to decline over time,” Asch said. “That impacts the viability of populations of that species, and any activities that are commercial or recreational, such as fishing, or in some cases tourism, that depend on those species.”
Therefore, she said, protecting spawning is important for conservation and fisheries management.
Asch also said the Restore grants are unique. While there are specific goals, the grantor encourages researchers to spend the first year working with stakeholders to determine how the science will work and how it will contribute to management.
She said the best way of meeting conservation and management goals is to work with others on a cooperative approach where stakeholders, who have an investment in the research, are involved in the science and help make management decisions.
“You end up with solutions that are more acceptable to people, and groups are not at odds with each other,” she said. “This is our long-term vision in terms of how we want to contribute to conservation.”
Ultimately, the team’s goal over the next five years is to gather data from fisheries, fishermen and independent surveys, verify where and what species are reproducing in the Gulf and develop plans for the best way to manage and conserve these sites.
Learn more about Asch’s project and the team online at the Restore Science program.
More Stories