Fisheries Grants Awarded

The North Carolina Fishery Resource Grant Program recently noted six new project awards for 2012. North Carolina Sea Grant administers the FRG Program funded by the North Carolina General Assembly. The program often pairs members of the fishing community with researchers and graduate students to combine local knowledge with scientific data-gathering methods. FRG grant panels determine priorities based on public input.

The 2012 awards include several studies that will provide data for fisheries management, a value-added technology for seafood, and a method to improve land-based aquaculture.

Capt. Dale Britt of Morehead City and Jeff Buckel of NC State will study discard mortality of dolphin fish, also known as mahi-mahi. Previous studies indicated that length limits fail to produce sustainable fish populations if discard mortality rates exceed 20 percent. Britt and Buckel plan to catch dolphin fish by hook and line. Fish below the legal-size limit will be unhooked and transferred to a tank for observation. This project addresses a 2012 FRG priority to determine hook-and-release mortality for important recreational species.

Read the full story on the Sea Grant website.