2020-2021 Sea Scallop and Monkfish Research Set-Aside Projects Selected

Sea scallops on the seafloor photographed using the HabCam, a towed camera array. Photo courtesy of Coonamessett Farm Foundation

New Projects for 2020-2021

NOAA Fisheries has selected 12 sea scallop and two monkfish projects for 2020-2021 awards through research set-aside (RSA) programs. The New England Fishery Management Council established the Sea Scallop RSA Program and the Monkfish RSA Program. They address research questions that support management of commercial fisheries for these species. NOAA Fisheries expects to make final awards later this month.

“The RSA program improves our scientific understanding of sea scallops and monkfish, which directly contributes to their sustainable management,” said Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Center scientists collect biological data about these species, assess stock condition, and evaluate and monitor fishery performance. The RSA program results are integral to this effort.

The selected projects will investigate sea scallop and monkfish research priorities developed by the council. NOAA Fisheries expects the awards to generate approximately $20 million. That includes $4 million to fund research, and $16 million to compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside sea scallops and use monkfish RSA days-at-sea.

RSA Program

In the Northeast's RSA programs, researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries. No federal funds support the research. Instead, the programs award pounds of sea scallops and monkfish RSA days-at-sea from amounts “set-aside” annually for this purpose. There are active RSA programs for Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic herring, and monkfish.

Areas where selected sea scallop surveys will occur off the Northeastern U.S. Chart courtesy of New England Fishery Management Council

Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Projects

An intensive optical assessment of sea scallop abundance and distribution in select areas of Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic: Southern Closed Area 2, Southern Flank, Nantucket Lightship South Deep, Elephant Trunk, Hudson Canyon

Institution: Coonamessett Farm Foundation

Collaborator: F/V Kathy Marie

Set-Aside Year/Award ($9.50/lb): 2020/256,651 lb ($2,438,180); 2021/167,467 lb ($1,590,940)

Economic impacts of offshore wind energy development on the commercial sea scallop fishery

Institution: Rutgers University

Collaborators: University of Southern Mississippi, Old Dominion University, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Set-Aside Year/Award ($9.50/lb): 2020/138,076 lb ($1,311,722); 2021/19,818 lb ($188,267)

Sea scallop assessment on Stellwagen Bank

Institution: Maine Department of Marine Resources

Collaborators: University of Maine, F/V Nicole Leigh

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/18,422 lb ($175,005)

An assessment of sea scallop abundance and distribution in the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area

Institution: Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/42,377 lb ($402,578); 2021/39,880 lb ($378,863)

An assessment of sea scallop abundance and distribution in the Georges Bank Access Areas and Surrounds

Institution: Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/42,020 lb ($399,192); 2021/43,460 lb ($412,870)

Age-based assessment in the sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus

Institution: Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/109,718 lb ($1,042,322)

Quantifying scallop growth and evaluating its spatio-temporal variability in the Northern Gulf of Maine

Institution: University of Maine

Collaborators: Maine Department of Marine Resources, F/V Shearwater, F/V  Eleanor J    

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/20,451 lb ($194,280)

High-resolution drop-camera survey examining the scallop recruitment event in the Gulf of Maine

Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School of Marine Science and Technology

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/131,834 lb ($1,252,423)

High-resolution drop-camera surveys to track scallop and predator populations in Nantucket Lightship and Elephant Trunk, and to examine the effects of increased quadrat sampling

Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School of Marine Science and Technology

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/91,671 lb ($870,875)

Drop-camera survey to track scallop aggregations in Closed Area II access area and Closed Area II Extension

Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School of Marine Science and Technology

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/50,005 lb ($475,049)

A seasonal video trawl survey to assess the population size of yellowtail flounder (Pleuronectes ferruginea) and windowpane (Scophthalmus aquosus) in Closed Area II

Institution: University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/School of Marine Science and Technology

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/121,676 lb ($1,155,924)

Investigating links between environmental conditions and scallop meat condition to predict the regional vulnerability of fishing stocks under future ocean acidification and warming

Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Collaborators: Northeastern University F/V Liberty, F/V Justice, F/V Venture, F/V Edgartown

Set-Aside Year/Award (9.50/lb): 2020/140,148 lb ($1,331,402); 2021/75,316 lb ($715,503)

Monkfish on ocean bottom. Photo: NOAA Fisheries

Monkfish Research Set-Aside Projects

The use of novel fishery-independent tagging technology to investigate the movements and stock structure of adult monkfish (Lophius americanus) along the United States East Coast

Institution: Arizona State University

Collaborator: New England Aquarium

DAS Award Year/Estimated Value: 2020/400 DAS ($2,102,582); 2021/399 DAS ($2,099,397)

Using deep-learning image analysis to detect monkfish from seabed imagery - development and implementation of a convolutional neural network for survey applications

Institution: University of Delaware

Year/DAS Award/ Estimated Value: 2020/100 DAS ($526,300); 2021/101 DAS ($531,563)

For More Information

Please contact Ryan Silva, GARFO Cooperative Research Liaison