Annual Meeting General Sessions
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| General Session: 2023 Aquaculture Overview This session highlighted six on-going and completed aquaculture projects in the region that are supported through the NOAA and Commission’ Aquaculture Program. The projects were selected because they are either multi-year or have had multiple stages of research. The ability of the Commission’s Aquaculture Program to fund additional work after a successful pilot study is one of the major benefits of the program. Projects include the culture of finfish, mollusks, and seaweed, an outreach tool in support of regional aquaculture, as well as two integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) projects. |
| General Session: Advanced Technologies in Marine Fisheries The general session focuses on some of the newest and most innovative advances in these technologies from in and outside the Gulf Region, and how some of them may be applied to manage Gulf fisheries. |
| General Session: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Aquatic Nuisance Species Small Grants Program In 2014, the Region 4 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) started to explore ways to increase capacity to address the always increasing problem with Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) in the southeast region. They decided to enter into a partnership with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) to develop and administer an ANS Small Grants Program. This program also utilizes the expertise of the Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species (GSARP) that is an advisory panel to the National Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. Members of the GSARP form the Review Committee that is charged with reviewing and ranking all proposals received through the program. Over the last eight years of this program, it has been able to fund 43 projects totaling over $1,000,000. These projects have addressed a variety of invasive species and issues (giant salvinia, hydrilla, phragmites, didymo, invasive carp, rusty crayfish, speckled crayfish, red-rimmed melania, lionfish, apple snail, Asian clam, American eel swimbladder parasite, whirling disease, snakehead, invasive black bass, eDNA, bait regulations, novel cyanotoxin, etc.) impacting the region. In addition to addressing the invasive species in the southeast region, this program has resulted in increased collaboration and communication between the FWS, GSMFC, GSARP, and the academic community. The general session highlighted a few of the projects funded through the Small Grants Program and some of the ANS species/issues impacting the southeast region of the U.S. |
| Advanced Technologies in Marine Science This session discusses a variety of topics such as drones, acoustic and satellite tags, remote underwater vehicles, acoustics, towed cameras, and artificial intelligence to identify fish and habitat. Presentations discuss these new technologies and how gathered data can be used for better fisheries management. |
| The 2019 Freshwater Impacts to Marine Natural Resources Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico In 2019 the northern Gulf of Mexico experienced a fisheries disaster as a result of all the freshwater that was introduced to the system from the Mississippi River. 2019 marked the first time in history that the Bonnet Carré Spillway was opened in two consecutive years and the first time it was opened twice in one year which resulted in the spillway being open for 151 days in 2019 (twice as many as any other year in history) and a total discharge of 1.34 trillion cubic feet of water, almost six times the volume of Lake Pontchartrain. |
| Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico - 2018 Grants OFF-BOTTOM OYSTER AQUACULTURE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO - 2018. A summary of the March 2019 GSMFC 69th Spring Annual Meeting General Session providing overviews of the current oyster small grants which were awarded from NOAA through the GSMFC. |
| Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle A summary of the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Symposium held in South Padre Island, Texas on October 17, 2018. |
| Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico - 2017 Grants OFF-BOTTOM OYSTER AQUACULTURE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO - 2017. A summary of the March 2018 GSMFC 68th Spring Annual Meeting General Session providing overviews of the current oyster small grants which were awarded from NOAA through the GSMFC. |
| Terrapins and Crab Traps Terrapins and Crab Traps. A summary of the October 2017 GSMFC 68th Annual Meeting General Session examining interactions between terrapins and the crab industry in the Gulf of Mexico. Utilizing the working knowledge of the Commission’s Crab Subcommittee to meet the research needs of the regional and national Diamondback Terrapin Workgroups, it is hoped that we will begin to change the tone regarding interactions between terrapins and the Gulf’s crab industry. |
| Current Issues Facing Recreational Fisheries Management Recreational landings are a significant component for several of the managed marine fish species in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of those species are currently overfished or undergoing overfishing. For this reason, recreational fisheries data collection and management are important topics for discussion. GSMFC invited six speakers to the spring 2017 annual meeting to discuss issues and challenges facing marine recreational fisheries management and data collection. |
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Publications are downloadable and, in some cases, printed copies are available. For more information, contact Keith Wilson at (228) 875-5912 or via e-mail.
