Meetings and Conferences

2000 Annual Western Division AFS Meeting
Telluride Convention Center
Telluride, Colorado
July 16-20, 2000

Workshop
July 17, 2000
8 am - 5 pm - East Ballroom

Workshop on: USE OF THE FISHERY ANALYSIS SIMULATION TOOL (FAST)
 TO EVALUATE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES
Instructors:
Mike Maceina and Jeff Slipke
Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
203 Swingle Hall Auburn University, AL 36849Phone: 334-844-9319 (MM); 334-844-4058 (JS)
Fax:     334-844-9208
E-mail mmaceina@acesag.auburn.edu; jslipke@acesag.auburn.edu

Goals:  Provide attendees with overview of the FAST software program to evaluate recreational sport fisheries. Analytical procedures will focus on estimating recruitment, growth, and mortality, and the integration of these processes will be presented through modeling population dynamics from actual case histories.  The Beverton-Holt equilibrium yield and dynamic pool models are used in FAST that require age structure type data. Materials needed: Laptop or desktop computer with Windows 95, 98 or NT; 2 persons can team up per computer.

Materials provided:

  1. Course notes
  2. Publications
  3. Fishery Analysis Simulation Tool software on CD-Rom with documentation
Agenda:
8:00 AM Modeling to predict the effects of length and bag limits in stable and stochastic recruitment populations - Introduction and Objectives
8:15 AM

Estimating growth:

  • weight:length relations; terms used in modeling
  • quantifying growth using the von Bertalanffy  equation; terms used in modeling
  • sample size considerations
9:30 AM Estimating mortality:

  • compute catch curves to estimate overall mortality

  • determining exploitation rates

  • separating fishing from natural mortality

  • additive versus compensatory mortality

  • use of age:length keys to extrapolate age

  • consequences of aging errors (let's start modeling)

  • sample size considerations; outliers

10:30 AM BREAK
11:00 AM Estimating recruitment:

  • development of long-term indices of recruitment

  • use of catch-curves to detect strong and weak year classes

  • recruitment:parental stock relations and influence of environmental effects

  • sample considerations

12:00 PM LUNCH
1:00 PM Introduction to modeling, review of terms, and what to do to get started in FAST
1:45 PM   The use of FAST to assess length limits on sauger to maximize yield:

  • Dealing with uncertainty in exploitation

  • derivation of the Spawning Potential Ratio to address recruitment over fishing

  • Example: Tennessee River sauger fishery

2:45 PM BREAK
3:00 PM

So your 10 inch length limit on crappie did work and your looking real smart - what about recruitment? 

  • Example: Weiss Lake crappie fishery
3:45 PM

Length limit evaluation for primary catch-and-release and tournament fisheries - What about reducing that 16 inch minimum length for largemouth bass or better yet, how about slot limits

  • Example: Lake Eufuala largemouth bass fishery

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