Gulf of Alaska | Fishes and Fish Habitats UNDERGRADUATE POSTER PRESENTATION Behavioral responses of Pacific herring to potential deterrence strategies Presenter: Ky Friedman , kyle.friedman@noaa.gov, NOAA Fisheries Jordan Hollarsmith , jordan.hollarsmith@noaa.gov, NOAA AFSC Chris Taylor , chris.taylor@noaa.gov, NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research Kevin Boswell , kevin.boswell@fiu.edu, Florida International University Johanna Vollenweider , johanna.vollenweider@noaa.gov, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Alicia Bishop , alicia.bishop@noaa.gov, NOAA AKRO Rebecca Cates , rebecca.cates@noaa.gov, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center Tiffany Stephens , tiffanybot@gmail.com Kristin Cieciel , kristin.cieciel@noaa.gov, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center Pacific herring spawning events can envelop kelp farms in eggs, ruining highly valuable aquaculture crops. Desires for novel deterrence strategies have introduced a need for research into behavioral responses of pacific herring to various human created stimuli. This project chose to investigate the effects of a bubble curtain, commercial fishing lights, an acoustic pinger, static fishing flashers, a low density array of moving fishing flashers, and a high density array of moving fishing flashers on herring location within a net pen. During June 2022, we exposed a school of wild caught pacific herring (n=400) in an in-water net pen for thirty minute exposure to each stimulus over the course of three days and measured their movements using a multi-beam sonar system. We determined the difference between the individual locations of the fish during exposure to the stimuli relative to that after exposure. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we compared estimate effects of treatment against replication. Results suggest the bubble curtain was effective at displacing the herring within the net pen while other stimuli demonstrated little to no effect. This project provides insight to farmers on potential strategies for deterring pacific herring and encourages future research of other potential stimuli.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 184
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