Large Pelagics Research Center
Human activities and climate change have impacted large pelagic species such as the tunas, marlins, sharks and sea turtles,
yet their highly migratory habits and long lifespan have limited our ability to develop best management strategies. The UNH
Large Pelagics Research Center is a center for excellence established through partnership between the University of New
Hampshire (UNH) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Center is dedicated
to addressing these limitations by developing the scientific information, technology and integrated approaches necessary to
support the development of effective ecosystem-based management strategies for large pelagic species in the northwest Atlantic
Ocean.
The key elements of the Large Pelagics Center include the UNH Large Pelagics Research Lab, directed by lead scientist, Dr. Molly Lutcavage, a Competitive Grants Program in large pelagics research and two Education Initiatives. Organizationally, these efforts are closely coordinated with the Southeast and Northeast Centers of the National Marine Fisheries Service and guided by an Advisory Board with representation from the academic, management, industry and conservation communities.
Mission
The overall mission of the Large Pelagics Research Center is to improve the management of large pelagic marine species by enhancing biological information needed to manage these resources within a biological, oceanographic and fisheries science framework. These goals will be achieved through a competitive grants program to develop and demonstrate the cost effective new tools needed to advance this research across the full range of pelagic species, targeted interdisciplinary field and population dynamics research, and educational initiatives to train the next generation of fisheries scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Large Pelagics Competitive Grants Program
The Center funds external research through a competitive peer-reviewed process. The Center awarded its inaugural research grants in May of 2006. The focus of this first RFP was technology and modeling development in support of large pelagics research; total funding available was ~ $2.2 million. For a complete list of projects receivign funding click here. Our next RFP will be released in December 2006. Read More...
Large Pelagics Research Lab
The Large Pelagics Research Lab's research is directed at the population biology and ecology of Atlantic bluefin tuna, and includes regional and international, ocean-wide studies. Over the past fifteen years, our research program has included direct population assessments, sonic tracking, electronic tagging, age and growth and food web studies, and reproductive biology. Our cooperative satellite tagging program engages commercial and recreational fishermen as tagging partners, and includes studies of adults and juveniles in order to study their distribution and movements in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. These efforts have succeeded in describing bluefin migratory patterns that are different from those previously assumed, and which call for new approaches to Atlantic-wide management programs. This research will include development of operational models for bluefin stock assessment and management in collaboration with NOAA and NMFS and places an emphasis on new spatial, oceanographic, and analytical approaches to assess the movements, mixing rates, abundance, and behavior of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Complimentary research also includes studies of the movements and oceanographic and fisheries associations of sea turtles. For more information on this research, visit the research lab website at http://www.tunalab.unh.edu.
Large Pelagics Education Initiatives
The Center is building a prototype inter-university student team competition to engage undergraduate students in critical research and technology development projects. Student-led project teams will be working on the design, develop and implement innovative new sensor technologies prioritized through the Large Pelagics Research Center Advisory Board. The Center will also support up to two Graduate Fellowships in large pelagics research at UNH that will serve to attract talented graduate students to UNH to contribute to the development of the next generation of fisheries scientists and managers. Learn more...
