Seatrout poster named 'best'
HRI student Palacios' work recognized

Ruben Palacios with poster at national science conference in San Jose, California.
Ruben Palacios, and undergraduate intern mentored by Dr. Greg Stunz in HRI's Fisheries and Ocean Health group, won best poster presentation at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science National Conference held October 27-30 in San Jose, California. The work he presented at the conference was entitled “Large-scale movement patterns of spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in South Texas estuaries.” Palacios is supported by the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) and has been working on several projects under Stunz since Fall 2009. He worked closely with former HRI graduate student Laura Payne on the seatrout project and plans on graduating from TAMU-CC in December 2012.

Robillard appointed to panel
Goal: gain more data from anglers
HRI Research Associate Megan Robillard was recently appointed to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Ad Hoc Private Recreational Data Collection Advisory Panel. The charge of this advisory panel is to identify methods for improving private boat recreational data collection through additional data collection programs that would supplement the current Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Robillard will help prioritize new programs that will allow for significant participation by private boat recreational anglers whose data is not presently collected because of the small sample size of the existing MRIP survey system.

American Fisheries Society
HRI staff presents research in Seattle
Endowed Chair Dr. Greg Stunz of HRI's Fisheries and Ocean Health group attended the annual American Fisheries Society meeting in Seattle, September 4-8. Stunz was co-author on several papers presented at the meeting, including one by former HRI PhD Student Dr. Bridgette Froeschke on habitat use of southern flounder using boosted regression trees and artificial neural networks. HRI PhD Student Judd Curtis presented his dissertation work on delayed post-release mortality in the Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper fishery using acoustic telemetry. HRI Research Associate Megan Robillard and Curtis also attended a workshop to learn more about the latest acoustic technology and how to incorporate it into their current and future fisheries studies.

Dolphinfish tagging initiative
Project successful during 2011 season

Peter Young with tagged dolphinfish before it is released into the Gulf of Mexico. PHOTO: HRI As part of HRI's Fisheries and Ocean Health group, Master's Student Peter Young headed up the Dolphinfish Tagging Initiative for the 2011 offshore fishing season. Through the help of recreational anglers this summer, 250 more dolphinfish have been added to the project's database. Since starting the program, HRI has recaptured two tagged dolphinfish and is using the information from them to track movement patterns of dolphinfish throughout the Gulf. Young also helped launched the Dolphinfish Tagging Initiative website dedicated to this project, online at tagpelagic.org. Visit the website to learn who participated in the study, how to tag dolphinfish, to view photos and to see a list of tagging leaders.