This project will verify, characterize, monitor, and model multi-species fish spawning aggregations (fsas) in federal waters of the gulf of america and evaluate how long-term habitat suitability for…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded East Carolina University a $1.669 million Cooperative Agreement under the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology program (CFDA 11.451) on October 1, 2025, to verify, characterize, monitor, and model multi-species fish spawning aggregations in federal waters of the Gulf of America and evaluate how global change impacts long-term habitat suitability for these aggregations.

The project will conduct cooperative biophysical monitoring of six priority multi-species fish spawning aggregations over the five-year performance period (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2030), supported by field research including visual and video surveys and long-term biophysical monitoring. East Carolina University will develop a study fleet of commercial fishers trained and permitted to sample up to 120 additional sites prioritized by resource managers and scientists during two regional workshops. Commercial fisher participation is backed by contracts summing to 17 percent of the budget. The project will employ multi-model ecological niche modeling to investigate spawning habitats and particle dispersal modeling to assess connectivity and global change impacts on transient fish spawning aggregations.

Work is performed in Greenville, North Carolina. The Nature Conservancy serves as sub-recipient responsible for stakeholder engagement, advisory group coordination, and workshop logistics. Sustainable Marine Solutions, LLC serves as sub-recipient responsible for leading field data collection and analysis. Both sub-recipients support science-to-policy engagement with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

This project will verify, characterize, monitor, and model multi-species fish spawning aggregations (fsas) in federal waters of the gulf of america and evaluate how long-term habitat suitability for fsas is impacted by global change. Fsas are hotspots of biological productivity where multiple fish species converge at predictable locations and times for breeding. Fsas are key to healthy fish populations, but information about their locations, connectivity between FSA sites, and FSA long-term trends is insufficient to inform management decisions. The gmfmc and the fgbnms serve as our resource management partners, given their jurisdiction to enact spatiotemporal regulations for FSA conservation in federal waters and the sanctuary, respectively. The proposed project addresses the fish, fisheries, and fishing communities area of emphasis of restore. This project engages interested parties to bridge the science-to-policy GAP via advisory groups and a process to identify priority fsas for characterization, monitoring, and modeling. The project aims to conduct field research to characterize, verify, and monitor FSA sites via cooperative research with fishers, visual/video surveys, and long-term biophysical monitoring. Cooperative biophysical monitoring of six, priority, multi-species fsas in the gulf will take place in year 1-5 as permitted with a letter of authorization. Also, we will develop a study fleet of fishers that will be trained and permitted to sample up to 120 additional sites as prioritized by expert resource end users and scientists during two workshops. This investment in cooperation is backed by contracts for commercial fishermen summing to 17% of our budget. Finally, the project will model global change and variability impacts on transient fsas and connectivity. This work will utilize a multi-model ecological niche modeling approach to investigate the spawning habitats of species forming transient fsas. Additionally, particle dispersal modeling will be utilized to investigate source/sink dynamics, examining connections between fgbnms and other areas of the gulf. This project expects to produce a synthesis of expert knowledge on fsas, along with verification and characterization of fsas in the gulf. Additionally, future projections of changes in spawning habitat suitability and phenology of FSA sites and assessments of interannual variation in larval dispersal pathways will be produced. All new data products will be made publicly available consistent with fair (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles through a data portal. Confidentiality will be maintained in cases where sharing sensitive information could lead to overfishing at vulnerable fsas. Managers will be updated about products and contribute to their design through advisory group meetings and presentations to the gmfmc and the fgbnms sanctuary advisory council.