Course Number: FISH 6510
Course Title: Fisheries Biology & Management
| Credits | 3 (2 lec., 4 lab) |
Prerequisites: General Biology
I. Course Content/Objectives:
1. Objectives: To provide a general overview and introduction to fisheries management with particular emphasis on freshwater examples, for juniors, seniors, and entering graduate students. Students will leave the course having been introduced to the basic tools used by and the complex issues faced by fisheries managers. The laboratory will provide hands-on field experience sampling and processing fish and will augment material presented in lecture.
2. Tentative Schedule and Outline of the Course
Week:
| 1 | Introduction- What is fisheries management and why is it important? Historical perspective |
| 2 | Fishes of the Southeast- Brief description of the important families and their life-history characteristics |
| 3 | Basic statistics |
| 4 | Population Dynamics- Stock Assessment
- Sampling limitations - Mark-recapture |
| 5 | Population Dynamics- Age & Growth |
| 6 | Population Dynamics- Calculating vital rates
- VPA & CAEGAN - Bioenergetics |
| 7 | Modeling Populations -Stock-recruitment
-MEI -Stage-based -IBM (Midterm EXAM) |
| 8 | Fish & Fisheries in an Ecosystem Context
-Dynamic system models |
| 9 | Empirical Approaches -Observation to Experimentation
-Adaptive Management |
| 10 | Managing fisheries - Length and creel limits |
| 11 | Management Tools- Habitat modification |
| 12 | Management Tools- Stocking |
| 13 | Conflicts in Modern Fisheries |
| 14 | Conflicts in Modern Fisheries |
| 15 | The Future of Fisheries Management/ Fisheries as a Profession |
3. Text: Kohler,
C.C. and W.A. Hubert. eds. 1999. Inland Fisheries Management in North America,
2nd ed
II. Grading and Evaluation.
1. Students are expected to attend all labs. Exams can be rescheduled only with the permission of the instructor.
2. Grading:
Lecture
3 quizzes 20%
1 mid term 17.5%
1 comprehensive final 17.5%
2 writing assignments 20%
Lab
attendance/participation 5%
3 assignments 20%
_________________________
100%
3. Grading Scale
90-100 =A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
<60 =F
Note: Students with special needs because of handicap or other reasons should make their needs known to the instructor in the first week of class
Lab Schedule
1. Tour of the pond facility and introduction to fish sampling.
2. Statistics in fisheries
3. Begin mark-recapture sampling.
4. End mark-recapture.
5. Stream sampling
6. otolith analysis
7. Age-growth analysis
8. diets
9. Bioenergetics
10. Stage-based models of fish populations
11. Discussion of the future of fisheries
12. Presentations of case histories of conflicts & resolutions