Comparison of Different Deployment Strategies for Bay Scallop Spawner Sanctuaries in New York
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES FOR BAY SCALLOP SPAWNER SANCTUARIES IN NEW YORK Stephen T. Tettelbach, Dennis Bonal, Andrew Weinstock, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Brookville, NY 11548 Debra Barnes, NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, East Setauket, NY 11733 Gregg Rivara, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Southold, NY 11901 Chelsea Fitzsimons-Diaz, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI 02809 John Carroll, Stony Brook University, Southampton, NY 11968 Funded through the State Wildlife Grant Program - New York Collaborators: NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation: Debra Barnes, Josh Thiel, M. Chase Cammarota Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County: Gregg Rivara, R.Michael Patricio Town of East Hampton Shellfish Hatchery: John Aldred, Frank Quevedo, Jennifer Gaites, Barley Dunne The Nature Conservancy: Wayne Grothe, Adam Starke, Joe Zipparo Long Island University: authors, plus Richard Ames, Shalini Gopie, Alex Mattis, Lindsay Moore, Kate Newman, Jennifer Rice; Ashton Schardt, Ian Simmers New York Bay Scallop Landings - Commercial - 800 700 ) 600 500 400 300 # Pounds of Meats (1000's 200 100 0 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 New York Bay Scallop Planting Methods: Overwintering and/or for Spawner Sanctuaries Study Objectives: • Evaluate Use of Suspended ADPI Bags for Bay Scallop Spawner Sanctuaries • Compare ADPI Bag System to High Density Free-Plantings NWH = NW Harbor Free-Planted Sectors ADPI Arrays 36 Arrays (3 bags ea): SI or EH 25 m SI EH SI EH 15 mm mesh 25 m 25 m 25 m 25 m 50, 100, or 200 per tier (bag) Ave. Initial Planting Density = Initial Planting Density = 95-132/ m2 117/234/468/ m2 ~235,000-277,000 Planted/Year 12,600 Planted/Year 2005: Scallops Planted 30 Mar – 1 Apr Initial Mean Size = 38-40 mm 2006: Scallops Planted 3 – 7 Apr Initial Mean Size = 33-35 mm Design of ADPI Bag Arrays 2006 Overall Survival: ADPI Bags vs Free-Plants (mid-August: ~4.5 months after planting) 70 60 50 40 30 20 Overall % Survival Overall % 10 0 bags free bags free 2005 2006 Density of Free-Planted Bay Scallops (Mean +/- 1 SE) 300 2005 Sector 1 (SI) 250 Sector 2 (EH) Sector 3 (SI) 200 Sector 4 (EH) 150 100 50 Scallop Density (#/sq. m) Scallop Density 0 April May June July Aug Sept Oct Density of Free-Planted Bay Scallops (Mean +/- 1 SE) 350 2006 300 Sector 1 (SI) Sector 2 (EH) 250 Sector 3 (SI) Sector 4 (EH) 200 150 100 50 0 Scallop Density (#/sq. m) Scallop Density April May June July Aug Sept Oct (Mid-August: ~ 4.5 Months After Planting) SI EH SI EH 50 100 200 50 100 200 2005 2006 2005 2006 Scallop Source # Scallops Stocked/Bag Scallop Shell Growth (~6.5 months after planting) 40 BC C 30 B B B B 20 A A 10 Median Shell Growth (mm) 0 EH SI EH SI EH SI EH SI bags free-plants bags free-plants 2005 2006 K-W 1-way ANOVA (p<.001) / Dunn’s Test (p<.05) Array October 2006 Free-plant Fouling Organisms: August ’05, ‘06 (Mean + 1 SE) 5 B B 4 3 2 A A 1 0 2005 2006 2005 2006 Wet Wt of Fouling Organisms (g) Free-Plants ADPI bags K-W 1-way ANOVA (p<.001) / Dunn’s Test (p<.05) 2005 Temporal Spawning Patterns (Mean +/- 1 SE) 50 SI bags EH bags 40 SI free plants EH free plants 30 20 Gonad Index Gonad 10 0 April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov 2005 Temporal Spawning Patterns (Mean +/- 1 SE) 50 SI bags EH bags 40 SI free plants EH free plants 30 20 Gonad Index Gonad 10 0 April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov 2006 7 June 2005 SUMMARY • High density free-plants: 59% mean survival to 1st spawning, 2+ mos after planting (2005); 10% mean survival to 1st spawning, 2 mos after planting (2006) More rapid decline in #’s in 2006: possibly due to lack of eelgrass, smaller initial size, and/or higher initial density • Scallop survival usually better in ADPI bags compared to free-plants; less tilting of ADPI bags in 2006 reflected in higher survival vs 2005 • Scallop shell growth: less in ADPI bags vs free-plants • Bio-fouling levels much higher on scallops in ADPI bags vs free-plants • Spawning of scallops in ADPI bags and on bottom peaked at ~ same time in respective years, at similar levels of reproductive investment (GI) .