Chris Taylor and Pete Rand use a variety 

 technology. 



two from Beaufort." 



The number of menhaden reduction 

 plants also has declined along the Atlantic 

 Coast from nine in 1983 to two today — one 

 in Virginia and one in Beaufort, according to 

 Street. 



Menhaden and other pelagic fish serve 

 another important role by indirectly supporting 

 several commercial and recreational fisheries. 

 Along the route, the fish are eaten by many 

 predators, including bluefish, striped bass and 

 mackerel, birds and marine mammals. 



Research involves 

 intensive field work 



To determine if low-oxygen levels and 

 other factors affect the growth rates and 

 behavior of pelagic fish, the Sea Grant 



research team is collecting 

 samples over two years. 



The research is tedious 

 and involves long hours on 

 the water at night. Three 

 times a month from May to 

 October, the research team, 

 which includes Taylor, Jacob 

 Rash, Brian Degan and 

 Nathan Hall, motors into the 

 Neuse. 



"It's pretty gruelling 

 work," says Taylor. "By the 

 time we get off the water at 

 sunrise, we are pretty tired." 



The team leaves in two 

 boats — the 1 8-foot Atlantic 

 and 23-foot Sea Ox — from a 

 dock at Cherry Point Marine 

 Base in Havelock. First, they 

 use water quality sensors to 

 measure the salinity, 

 temperature, dissolved 

 oxygen and pH of the water. 



"Water quality sensors 

 have revolutionized the way 

 we assess habitat conditions 

 for fish in the field," says 

 Rand. "We can moor them 

 on buoys, tow them behind a 

 boat near the bottom or 

 surface, or cast them down to 

 a depth to generate a 

 complete water column 

 profile. We know that other factors such as 

 salinity and temperature also can negatively 

 impact fish." 



The researchers also use plankton traps 

 to measure the abundance of copepods — 

 plankton eaten by anchovies. 



"We are trying to draw a link between 

 plankton dynamics and large predators like 

 striped bass, trout and bluefish," says Taylor. 

 "Menhaden and anchovies — which feed 

 primarily on plankton and also serve as food 

 for large predators — are undoubtedly the 

 important players." 



The scientists also set out the high-tech 

 sonar device at several locations. 



To back up the results of the sonar 

 device, they put on white rubber boots and 

 foul-weather gear and set surface trawls in the 



of 



water between the two boats. 



The surface trawl is pulled between the 

 boats and captures fish in the top three feet of 

 the water column. 



On this day, Taylor throws out a surface 

 trawl between two boats. After five minutes, he 

 vigorously pulls the trawls in like a veteran 

 fisher. 



As he empties the trawl, about a dozen 

 menhaden flutter in the bucket. 



This catch is smaller than usual. 

 "Sometimes we pull in twice as many 

 menhaden," Taylor says. "The anchovy catch 

 is much larger, sometimes as many as 10,000 

 in a single tow," he adds. 



"Catches of fish in the trawl give us an 

 idea of the composition of species as well as 

 the size distribution of fish," says Taylor. 



Although the data collected in 2000 has 

 not been completely analyzed, it appears that 

 menhaden and other pelagic fish are respond- 

 ing quickly to the river's water quality, says 

 Taylor. 



Rand says the study will provide a link 

 to other models developed by researchers on 

 the Neuse. For example, Sea Grant researcher 

 Larry Crowder is conducting water quality 

 studies on bottom animals with trawl gear. 



In addition, ModMon — a multi- 

 investigation group from the University of 

 North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences, 

 Duke University, NC State, East Carolina 

 University, the University of North Carolina at 

 Charlotte, Weyerhaeuser Corp. and federal and 

 state agencies — has sampled water quality at 

 19 estuarine stations on the Neuse. North 

 Carolina has a mandate to reduce nitrogen 

 loading into the Neuse by 30 percent each year. 



"The way we conduct research in 

 fisheries is changing rapidly," says Rand. 

 "We need to be aware of changes occurring 

 throughout the ecosystem — from develop- 

 ment patterns in the headwaters and flood- 

 plains, to long-term climate patterns, to sources 

 of nutrient loading leading to eutrophication. 



"My work on pelagic fishes in the lower 

 Neuse River compliments on-going work by a 

 variety of scientists throughout North Carolina. 

 We just don't know how the system will 

 respond to the state-mandated reductions in 

 nutrient loading. My hope is that this research 

 will bring us one step closer to the answer." □ 



14 WINTER 2001 



