National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program
Proposal Number	Title	Description	Recipient	Principle Investigator	Period	Final Report
2006 Fishing Year
06-MONK-002	The Biology of Large Monkfish, Lophius americanus	To provide information on the biology of large monkfish (90 and larger). Research will focus on determining monkfish age and growth patterns, investigating the spawning frequency of large monkfish, and estimating the rates of cannibalism of large monkfish.	UMD Eastern Shore	Andrea Johnson	5/1/06 – 4/30/07        Ext. to 1/31/2008	Full Text
06-MONK-003	Influence of Diet on Growth and Condition of Monkfish: Towards an Ecosystem-based Understanding of Monkfish Productivity	To provide detailed information on the feeding habits of Gulf of Maine monkfish and how variations in food availability may contribute to variations in growth and condition of this species, using both a traditional (stomach contents) and a novel (stable isotopes) diet analysis.	Gulf of Maine Research Institute	Graham Sherwood and Jonathon Grabowski	5/1/06 – 4/30/07  Ext. to 4/30/08
2007 Fishing Year
07-MONK-001	The Biology of Large Monkfish, Lophius americanus	A continuation of 06-MONK-002 - To provide information on the biology of large monkfish (90 and larger). Research will focus on determining monkfish age and growth patterns, investigating the spawning frequency of large monkfish, and estimating the rates of cannibalism of large monkfish.	UMD Eastern Shore	Andrea Johnson	5/1/07- 4/30/08
07-MONK-002	A Tagging Study to Assess Monkfish (Lophius americanus) movements and Stock Structure in the Northeastern United States	This project will use short duration tows and gillnets to capture monkfish for a tagging study focused on adult monkfish movement patterns, spatial segregation by sex, and population structure. The commercial fishery will be relied upon via implementation of a tag-reward system.	Gulf of Maine Research Institute	Graham Sherwood, Jonathon Grabowski, and Shelly Tallack	5/1/07- 4/30/08
07-MONK-003	Determining the Best Mesh Size for Gillnetting Monkfish, Lophius americanus	This two year project will fish three different gillnet mesh sizes (10, 12, 14-inch) to determine selectivity curves, and to measure differences in monkfish length and or weight. It is theorized that the use of larger mesh size may result in greater profits for the boats while reducing the take of smaller fish as well as by-catch of non-target species.	Capt. Brad Bowen	Brad Bowen and Mike Pol	5/1/07- 4/30/08
2008 Fishing Year
08-MONK-004	An Evaluation of the Effects of Gill Net Alterations on Selectivity and Relative Efficiency in the Monkfish Fishery	The proposed research will investigate alterations in the manner in which a monkfish net is constructed in an effort to minimize retention of non-targeted bycatch, including sturgeon and sea turtle, without significantly decreasing its effectiveness with regard to the target.	VIMS	Chris Hager	5/1/08 - 4/30/09
08-MONK-006	Influence of Climate on the Distribution and Catch Rates of Monkfish	The goal of this project is to collect 480 monkfish from commercial gillnetters to determine: 1) the influence of temperature on distribution and abundance; 2) age and growth estimates from the two management areas; 3) spawning frequency to determine population productivity and resilience; and 4) estimate feeding and cannabalism rates of monkfish to improve population models and fishery management.	UMD Eastern Shore	Andrea Johnson	5/1/08 - 4/30/09
08-MONK-008	Movements, Growth, and Habitat Use of Mokfish Based on Archival Tagging and Otolith Elemental Analysis	To investigate patterns in monkfish movement and habitat usage using data storage tags and otolith microchemistry.  This information could provide insight as to whether monkfish are migrating northward as they mature and also move outside of the range of fishing and survey activity during part of their life history.	GMRI	Jonathon Grabowski and Graham Sherwood	5/1/08 - 4/30/2010
08-MONK-09	Evaluating the Discard of Monkfish Caught as Bycatch on Northeast Multispecies DAS and Directed Monkfish Trips: An Application of the Study Fleet Electronic Logbook Program	This project will use a boat- and port-based data collection program to estimate and compare monkfish discards between boats trawl fishing under Northeast multispecies DAS and directed monkfish trips the Gulf of Maine. The boat-based program will utilize the Study Fleet electronic logbook and independent at-sea catch sampling, and will be complemented with port-based biological sampling of retained and otherwise discarded monkfish.	GMRI	Steve Eayrs and Dan Salerno	5/1/08 - 8/31/09