MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: Striped Bass Habitat Use and Migrations in the Lower Hudson River Estuary

MATOS Project Code: HRSB09

Data Type: Data

Project Duration: October 2009 - December 2011

Project Description: Through biotelemetry, we investigated how striped bass transit and utilize the lower Hudson River Estuary. This study builds upon past Hudson River Foundation-supported research, which suggested that striped bass migration patterns, categorized as “contingent structure,” might be a useful organizing concept in understanding how striped bass seasonally utilize the Hudson River Estuary. Seasonal migrations of three contingents (river, harbor, and ocean contingents) were investigated using both manual tracking (three seasonal campaigns) and remote data-logging receiver arrays over a 18-month period (May 2010-December 2011).

Objectives:

Locate tagged fish and measure associated water quality from 2010-11
Record transit and periods of residency among the three contingents
Tag 20 spawning Hudson striped bass (>70 cm TL) with acoustic transmitters in Spring 10
Tag 15 striped bass (>35 cm TL) with acoustic transmitters in the Upper Estuary in Fall 09
Tag 40 striped bass (>35 cm TL) with acoustic transmitters in the Lower Estuary in Fall 09
Deploy curtains of acoustic data-logging receivers in the Lower Hudson River Estuary

Principal Investigator:	Dave Secor (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
Email:	secor@umces.edu

Point of Contact:	Mike O'Brien
Email:	obrien@umces.edu

Collaborators:

Rebecca Wingate (UMCES)
Steve Nack (NYS DEC)
Ben Gahagan (MA DMF)

Participating Organizations:

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Funding:

Hudson River Foundation

UMCES Lower Hudson Striped Bass Contingents