Research and monitoring are core to the Division of Marine Fisheries, meeting its mission of ensuring sustainable marine and estuarine fisheries, and habitats for the benefit and health of the people of North Carolina. Fishery management plans and the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan provide the framework to establish management aimed at protecting these public trust resources. Monitoring and research results allow managers to make informed decisions that benefit North Carolinians.

The division has many research and monitoring programs. Each is scientifically designed to meet specific data needs and objectives. Data from these programs come together during the management plan process, whether it is a fishery management plan for a specific species or for the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan. As an example, a typical fishery management plan incorporates catch data (recreational and commercial removals), biological life history data (such as age, growth, maturity) and trends in relative abundance from fishery independent surveys to conduct what is called a stock assessment. Stock assessments are mathematical models that inform managers on the health and sustainability of a fish stock. In addition to the condition of a stock, fishery managers also need to consider other information gathered from research, such as socioeconomic and habitat data. All these sources help inform and assess the impacts of their management decisions.

While the division has many ongoing research programs, data shortcomings and data gaps are prevalent. Each stock assessment and management plan establishes a list of priority research needs. Each year, the division reviews and prioritizes these research needs for all 38 of the state and federally managed species, as well as for the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan. The highest priorities are given where data gaps are most crucial. Often, data gaps are broad and overarching (i.e., across species or habitats) while at other times, research needs may be critical for a specific high priority need.

In some cases, a species can be considered data-poor. Data-poor species have insufficient data to conduct a formal stock assessment to evaluate the health of a specific stock. Some state-managed species without a formal stock assessment include eastern oyster, sheepshead and kingfish. In the case of the eastern oyster and sheepshead, the division is working collaboratively with academia and other entities to develop methods for determining stock condition as well as refining research needs to assist with future data collection. For species like kingfish, data are lacking primarily due to their unknown migratory patterns and stock structure. In this case, migration studies on the kingfish populations are listed as a high priority research need. An example of an overarching research need includes information on size and disposition of fish released in both the recreational and commercial fisheries. At-sea sampling (observer programs) of the fisheries meet some of these needs for specific areas and fisheries, but for a large portion of the overall catch that is released where caught, very little is known. This “bycatch” research need will be found listed across a wide range of species.

The division works collaboratively with other agencies and universities. Research opportunities are also solicited through the Coastal Recreational Fishing License Fund, as well as other sources. In addition, the division recognizes the value in partnering directly with the recreational and commercial fisheries in research. Ongoing research in these areas include the division’s cooperative fish tagging program for spotted seatrout, red drum, cobia and other recreationally significant species. In commercial fishery, the division has been working directly with the shrimp industry to develop new gears and technologies that minimize finfish bycatch in shrimp trawls. Study results prompted the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission to implement gear modifications identified by this research to achieve an additional 40 percent reduction in finfish bycatch.

A summary of research priorities by species for the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries for 2018 can be found on the division website.