ECU Southern Flounder Spawning Study

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Project Description:
Objectives:
  1. Use otolith microchemistry to assess migration patterns of adult southern flounder caught in NC
  2. Back calculate the location of potential spawning habitats of southern flounder by aging larval fish
  3. Determine sex and maturity of adults sampled offshore;
  4. Conduct ichthyoplankton surveys at potential spawning sites and use DNA barcoding
  5. Track fish passing inlet gates and offshore acoustic curtain and a wave glider with VR2C
  6. Determine the timing of offshore migration by acoustically tagging southern flounder in NC
Management Benefits:
  1. Fish at offshore spawning areas located can be included in population models
  2. Will determine the appropriate spatial scale for management of this population
Principal Investigator:  Rebecca Asch (East Carolina University)
Email: Aschr16@ecu.edu
    Point of Contact:  Joseph J Luczkovich
    Email: luczkovichj@ecu.edu
      Collaborators:
      1. Fred Scharf (UNCW)
      2. Jeff Buckel (NCSU)
      3. E. Diaddorio, P. Harris, J. Luczkovich, T. Peacock, R. Rulifson, M. Sprague, C. McGarigal (ECU)