Menhaden Science and Policy Symposium
Friday, November 30, 2007
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Village Inn
1 Beach St.
Narragansett, RI 02882

SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS pdf (3/27/08)

Agenda Updated November 15

Please note: This symposium is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so advance registration is required.

Introduction

The allocation of the menhaden resource is a recurring issue in Rhode Island.  The questions range from:  "Should they be harvested at all?" to "Could they all be harvested?" Rhode Islanders deserve the opportunity to explore the current information available about the menhaden resource. This workshop is co-sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The following topics will be discussed: menhaden life history, history of the menhaden fishery, current coast-wide stock assessment, current stock assessment for Narragansett Bay, and the ecological value of menhaden. A panel discussion to discuss resource allocation will follow the presentations. The panel will consist of stakeholders for the menhaden resource. 

Objectives of the meeting

1. Provide background information on state of science of menhaden
   
2. Gather information for effective management of resource

Symposium presentations (12/08/07)

• Barry Costa-Pierce: Menhaden Science and Policy Symposium welcome pdf
• Dave Beutel: History of menhaden fishing in Narragansett Bay 14M pdf
• Kevin Friedland: Menhaden biology & life history; feeding practices & filter rates of menhaden 3M pdf
• Ted Durbin: Nutrient cycling, bioenergetics & menhaden's role in the ecosystem of Narragansett Bay 7M pdf
• Brad Spear: Coast-wide stock assessment of menhaden pdf
• Mark Gibson: Rhode Island management of menhaden pdf

Background reading

• Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 2004. Atlantic Menhaden Workshop Report and Proceedings. 836k pdf.
• Castillo-Rivera, M. et al. Food resource partitioning and trophic morphology of Brevoortia gunteri and B. patronus. html.
• Durbin, A.G., and E.G. Durbin. Effects of Menhaden Predation on Plankton Populations in Narragansett Bay Rhode Island. html.
• Friedland, K.G. et al. Viable gut passage of cyanobacteria through the filter-feeding fish Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus. html.
• Govoni, D. et al. Comparative feeding of three species of larval fishes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico; Brevoortia patronus, Leiostomus xanthurus and Micropogonias undulates. html.
• Gray, C.L. 1992. Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) species profile. NBEP report #NBEP-92-84. 2.5M pdf.
• Magnuson, J.J., and J.G. Heitz. Gill raker apparatus and food selectivity among mackerels, tunas, and dolphins. html.
• Oviatt, C. 1977. Menhaden, Sportfish, and Fishermen. 538k pdf.
• Peters, D.S. and M.A. Kjelson. Consumption and utilization of food by various postlarval and juvenile fishes of North Carolina estuaries. html.
• Peters, D.S. and W.E. Schaaf. Food requirements and sources for juvenile Atlantic menhaden. html.
• Stoecker, D.K. and J.J. Govoni. Food selection by young larval gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus). html.
• The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America by H. Bruce Franklin (suggested reading).  

Pre-symposium discussion

Join us for refreshments on November 29, 2007, and share your perspective about the history of menhaden stocks in Rhode Island and how they have changed. We will be at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography Coastal Institute, Hazard Rooms A & B, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All are welcome!

More information

For more information, contact Barbara Somers at barbs@uri.edu.