MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: Understanding Local Changes in Summer Flounder for Improved Sustainable Management 

MATOS Project Code: RISUM

Data Type: Data

Project Duration: February 2024 - on-going

Project Description: The project seeks to describe summer flounder stock dynamics in Rhode Island waters to support science-based management of the resource, particularly in relation to recent response of the species to local environmental change. These investigations are of great interest to the fishing industry, as harvesters have observed recent changes to the local summer flounder contingent of the population that are not evident in the coastwide stock assessment. By describing local movement dynamics and distribution changes of the species through tagging and time series analyses, the project will provide new information that is essential to understand impacts of potential regulations on the local summer flounder stock and its fisheries. As part of the project, over 100 acoustic tags will be deployed by the project team when summer flounder are intercepted in their trawl surveys, as well as through directed trips.

Objectives:

Understand summer flounder movements in Rhode Island state waters

Principal Investigator:	Rich Balouskus (Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Marine Fisheries)
Email:	richard.balouskus@dem.ri.gov

Point of Contact:	Rich Balouskus
Email:	richard.balouskus@dem.ri.gov

Collaborators:

Chris Parkins (RIDEM DMF)
Corinne Truesdale (RIDEM DMF)
Conor McManus (NOAA NEFSC)

Participating Organizations:

RI Saltwater Anglers Association
RI Party and Charter Boat Association
RI Department of Environmental Management

Funding:

Rhode Island Sea Grant

RI DMF Summer Flounder Movement