The state Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division will have a brownbag presentation December 6 from 12 noon-1 p.m. at the Susan Shipman Environmental Learning Center at the DNR Coastal Regional headquarters, 1 Conservation Way in Brunswick.
The presentations will be on Exploring Coastal Resources Division’s Red Drum Projects by Ryan Harrell and Chris Kalinowsky.
Harrell will present on “An Overview of the Marine Sportfish Population Health Survey.” Coastal Resources Division’s Marine Sportfish Population Health Survey began in 2003 to collect timely and relevant data on fish species popular with recreational inshore anglers. This entanglement gear survey is conducted annually in three of Georgia’s estuaries. Data collected are used to create long term uninterrupted indexes of abundance, monitor trends in populations and determine the efficacy of current management practices. Harrell, a Marine Fisheries biologist, will discuss the history of the survey, how the data is used, and the need to continue long-term monitoring of Georgia’s estuarine fish species.
Kalinowsky will present on “Georgia’s Red Drum Acoustic Tagging Escapement Project.”
In late 2019, the Coastal Resources Division began an autonomous acoustic telemetry project to study the movement of red drum in Wassaw Sound. Autonomous acoustic telemetry is the use of stationary receivers to monitor the movements of animals tagged with coded acoustic transmitters. Acoustic telemetry studies can provide some of the same types of information as conventional tagging studies, with the added benefit of providing more detailed information about specific movements, seasonality, aggregation areas, home ranges, and interstate migrations. Data from this study is expected to help improve the understanding of and management efforts on red drum in Georgia. Kalinowsky, a Marine Fisheries biologist, will discuss the history of the study and provide a summary of some of the preliminary findings.
For more information, Kelly Hill at Kelly.Hill@dnr.ga.gov.