Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Mid-Atlantic Center for Fisheries Science (MaCFiS)

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Planning Grant: Mid-Atlantic Center for Fisheries Science (MaCFiS) 1160942 Rutgers University; Eric Powell 1160938 College of William and Mary Institute of Marine Science; Roger Mann The Mid-Atlantic Center for Fisheries Science (MaCFiS) will utilize academic and recreational and commercial finfish and shellfish fisheries resources to address urgent scientific problems limiting successful management of these fisheries during the period of intense climate change. Rutgers University the College of William and Mary Institute of Marine Science are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with Rutgers University as the lead institution. The goal of this proposal is to seek funding for a planning meeting to establish a new Industry/ University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) entitled "Mid-Atlantic Center for Fisheries Science." The focus of the proposed center will be to develop essential biological data on fish stocks, including fecundity, age structure, and sources of mortality; improved models of sampling design, population dynamics, and fishery performance; evaluation of geographic and depth variations in stock structure and how these relate to the genetics, physiology and sexual dimorphism of species; and improved approaches to fishing to limit discard reduction through gear innovation, but also through modifications in fleet deployment consistent with oceanographic processes. These subjects encompass much of the fields of marine biology and oceanography. The proposed center would have significant impact on both the commercial and recreational fishing industries. The research at the proposed center will result in improved survey sampling methods, improved population dynamics models, new approaches to discard reduction, evaluation of geographic/depth-dependent variations in stock structure, identification of physiological/genetic origins of stock dynamics, and other meritorious outcomes, all aimed at the dual goals of sustainable fish stocks and sustainable fishing industries, thus simultaneously optimizing economic benefit while optimally husbanding the nation's fish resources.