Fisheries Abstract

**Wisconsin Sea Grant Program**

# STRATEGIC PLAN 2002-2006

Aquaculture Theme

Worldwide, aquaculture is the fastest growing sector of agriculture. The
growth of the aquaculture industry is driven, to a large extent, by
three factors: (1) the expanding human population, (2) the fact that
harvests of many of the world's wild fisheries have met or exceeded
their maximum sustainable yield, and (3) an increase in per capita
seafood consumption, based largely on the increasing realization of the
health benefits of diets high in seafood. In the U.S., aquaculture has
been a rapidly growing industry since the 1980s. Despite this growth,
however, the U.S. still imports more than 40% of its seafood, making
seafood second only to petroleum as the largest contributor to the
national debt among natural resource products.

Wisconsin currently has a moderately sized and diverse aquaculture
industry. This industry has a great potential for growth because of the
availability of key resources, including abundant water, land, labor,
and markets. The most likely candidates for aquaculture expansion in
Wisconsin are cool-climate freshwater species. One major obstacle to
achieving the potential of aquaculture growth in Wisconsin is
conditioning these species to intensive culturing, including methods for
improving growth, reducing stress and disease, and controlling
reproduction. Also needed are the development of improved aquaculture
systems and the establishment of various production parameters for these
species.

National Goal: Develop the scientific, technological information and
expertise needed to propagate and successfully culture fish with
commercial and/or recreational value to the United States as well as the
rest of the world.

Wisconsin Priorities: Establish the biological, physical, chemical,
environmental and economic parameters for optimizing the performance of
various aquaculture systems, particularly Recirculating Aquaculture
Systems and other Intensive Aquaculture Technology. Specifically:

-   Improve the growth and controlled reproduction of cultured fish by
    developing biotechnological approaches.

    -   Develop methodologies and technology to enable aquaculturealists
        to meet effluent water quality standards.

    -   Identify, detect and control disease and parasites to maintain
        fish health in aquaculture systems.

    -   Characterize and develop methodologies to control the adverse
        effects of stress on intensively cultured fish.

    -   Improve fish feed effectiveness through nutritional analyses,
        life-stage feeding strategies and the use of alternative feed
        ingredients.

-   Identify and respond to needs and opportunities for producing fish
    in support of scientific research and native species rehabilitation.

-   Develop and present aquaculture training and advisory services
    specifically directed to preservice and in-service vocational
    agriculture teachers.

-   Provide training to baitfish producers on how to control the spread
    of ANS in their harvest and stocking activities.

-   Increase general awareness of the economic and food supply
    potentials of freshwater aquaculture in Wisconsin and the Great
    Lakes region.

**Biotechnology Theme**

The United States leads the world in marine biotechnology research
expertise. Focused academic research in marine and aquatic biotechnology
in concert with commercial development offers the promise of societal
benefits as well as economic growth, leading to new industries and
employment opportunities. It will also help upgrade and advance higher
education to meet U.S. needs in an increasingly technical world. The
national Sea Grant network has identified five key areas for investment
in biotechnology: (1) marine natural products, (2) biomolecular
processes discovery, (3) marine environmental biotechnology, (4) marine
resource management, and (5) seafood safety and processing.

From a scientific standpoint and particularly in Wisconsin, the study of
freshwater aquatic organisms provides an essential complement to the
studies of marine organisms. For the Great Lakes region -- which already
supports a vibrant and growing biotechnology industry -- biotechnology
offers new opportunities for addressing such problems as contamination
of Great Lakes fish and sediments with toxins, control of nonindigenous
species, and enhanced production at public game fish hatcheries and
private bait and food fish farms.

National Goal: Encourage and support a wide range of freshwater and
marine biotechnology research for:

-   Restoring and protecting aquatic ecosystems

-   Improving risk characterization of toxicants to aquatic animal life

-   Enhancing aquaculture and seafood safety

-   Developing new pharmaceuticals, biomaterials and bioprocesses

Wisconsin Priorities:

-   Develop more accurate approaches for assessing and predicting the
    risks to feral fish populations exposed to persistant
    bioaccumulative chemical contaminants. Specifically:

    -   Develop gene microarrays in fish for identifying alterations in
        gene expression associated with chemical and physical stresses

    -   Communicate information about this issue and UW research on it
        to the public and potential investigators.

-   Develop biotechnological tools for addressing problems and issues
    related to aquaculture, ANS, fisheries, seafood products and water
    quality.

## Ecosystems and Habitats Theme

Coastal areas provide essential habitat for 75% of U.S. commercial
landings of fish and shellfish as well as critical habitat for numerous
species of recreational fishes, waterfowl, migratory birds, amphibians
and mammals. The continuing rapid urbanization of our coasts has
destroyed a significant amount of coastal wetlands, degraded water
quality and severely stressed coastal ecosystems.

Nowhere is an understanding of the linkages between terrestrial and
aquatic environments more critical to resource quality, sustainability
and management than in the Great Lakes region. With nearly 9,500 miles
of shoreline, the Great Lakes are aquatic systems dominated by their
coastal watersheds.

National Goals:

-   Develop a quantitative understanding of the structure and function
    of critical nearshore habitats and coastal ecosystems.

-   Identify the processes that control the transport, transformation
    and fate of biogeochemically important materials in the nearshore
    area, the impact of riverine inflows, and the influence of watershed
    management on coastal and estuarine systems.

Wisconsin Priorities:

-   Evaluate the significance of invertebrate species to planktonic and
    benthic food webs and the role of these organisms in the Great Lakes
    food web transfer of energy and contaminants.

-   Create partnerships to improve and enhance spawning habitat and
    nursery grounds to optimize native species rehabilitation

-   Develop an understanding of the importance of the near-shore
    environments and its importance to the aquatic food web.

## Fisheries Theme

America's fisheries are under extreme stress from many sources, and new
management approaches must be found to cope with the difficult
challenges. The long list of needed research includes fish population
dynamics, stock assessment, habitat and ecosystem health, environmental
contamination, management strategies, fish biology and behavior, effects
of climate changes, management institutions, socioeconomic impacts, and
conflict resolution.

The fisheries of the Great Lakes have been strongly influenced by
ecological changes brought about by deliberate as well as unintentional
introductions of exotic species. Sea lampreys contributed to the
collapse of native fish populations. Alewife and smelt replaced the
native forage fishes. Thriving recreational fisheries have developed
around the introduced Pacific salmon species. New invaders -- such as
zebra mussels, round goby, ruffe and white perch -- pose differenct and
equally significant challenges. Key research challenges include
developing ways to control the spread of exotics, creative methods for
reducing their adverse ecological effects, and the combination of
conceptual and analytical tools required to evaluate the future of
fishery restoration efforts. Recently, Wisconsin Sea Grant-supported
fisheries research has focused on the lake trout fishery and food web
dynamics in Lake Superior, and the decline of yellow perch and smelt
fisheries in Lake Michigan.

National Goals:

-   Develop an ecosystem perspective in renewable resource management

-   Understand the ecological changes effected by exotic aquatic species

-   Restore habitat and ecological conditions required by native species

-   Understand ecological variability and its role in resource
    management practices

Wisconsin Priorities:

-   Develop methods and models to improve management of Great Lakes
    commercial and recreational fisheries from a whole-ecosystem
    perspective

-   Evaluate the biological and economic impacts of exotic aquatic
    species on the Great Lakes' fisheries, and develop scientific
    approaches to guide control practices for dealing with exotic
    aquatic species

-   Identify factors and conditions necessary for rehabilitation of
    self-sustaining populations of native fish species. Specifically:

    -   Elucidate the dynamics of yellow perch recruitment and identify
        the key factors preventing the fishery's recovery from a
        population collapse in the early 1990s in Lake Michigan and
        recently in Green Bay.

-   Foster better understanding of the historical, cultural, ecological
    and economic significance of Great Lakes fisheries to Wisconsin, the
    region, and the nation.

## Seafood Science and Technology Theme

This national theme aims to develop new ways for Americans to reap the
bounty of our waters on a sustainable basis. Sea Grant-sponsored
research and technology transfer in this theme helps the seafood
industry by improving processing technology, products and methods for
assuring seafood safety. As wild fish stocks decline, we need to find
new ways to reduce waste and by-catch by improving fishing gear,
developing markets for underused species, and ensuring the safety and
quality of products through better storage, processing and packaging
techniques.

Examples of Sea Grant-supported research and technology transfer in this
area includes applying Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point methods in
commercial processing to ensure seafood safety, reducing crab processing
waste by improving minced meat recovery, developing super-absorbant gels
from fish protein extracts, and finding ways to use omega-3 fatty acids
common in fish oils as nutraceuticals -- foods or food additives that
confer nutritional, therapeutic or preventative medical benefits to
individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer
and diabetes, hepertension and other health problems.

National Goal: Improve the safety, quality, shelf-life and marketability
of existing and new seafood and seafood-derived products.

Wisconsin Priorities:

-   Develop new uses for seafood and GreatL akes fisheries products and
    by-products, including finding novel uses for by-catch, invasive
    exotic fishes and underutilized species for developing new
    fisheries.

-   Evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using fish oils
    for making nutraceuticals.

**Innovative Science and Technology Theme**

National Goal: Provide an opportunity for university scientists and
engineers to undertake original and innovative Great Lakes, coastal and
ocean research, especially work that reaches beyond the established
national Sea Grant research, outreach and education themes.

Wisconsin Priorities:

-   Quantify the potential effects of climate change on Great Lakes
    hydrology and ecosystems, including...fisheries productivity.