The ohio department of natural resources (ODNR) is applying for a 4-year (FFY 2025-2028) grant from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration inter-jurisdictional fishery act (IJFA)…

The ohio department of natural resources (ODNR) is applying for a 4-year (FFY 2025-2028) grant from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration inter-jurisdictional fishery act (IJFA) program to support the operations of the michigan state university quantitative fisheries CENTER (CENTER). The CENTER was created in 2005 to provide a research, outreach/service, and teaching program. Focus of the CENTER is the great lakes region of north america, and presently IT receives funding support from the great lakes fishery commission, great lakes indian fish and wildlife commission, michigan department of natural resources, new york department of environmental conservation, ohio department of natural resources, ontario ministry of natural resources and forestry, pennsylvania fish and boat commission, and wisconsin department of natural resources. The minnesota, ohio, and michigan dnrs have used IJFA funding since 2005 to partially support the operations of the CENTER. More recently, illinois DNR and pennsylvania FBC have also used IJFA funding to support the CENTER. Since its creation, the CENTER has participated in a wide variety of consultation and research projects on behalf of its supporting partners. Many of these projects have involved economically important stocks of walleye, yellow perch, lake trout, cisco, chinook salmon, and lake whitefish. The products that result from the CENTER (e.g., assessment models, analytical methods, management strategy evaluations, structured decisions making projects) often have clear system-wide benefits and transcend jurisdictional boundaries of individual lakes; thus, using IJFA funding to support the operating of the CENTER fits well within the overall scope of the IJFA program. This project will work with statistical modeling, stock assessment, and decision analysis experts at the quantitative fisheries CENTER at michigan state university to provide a research, outreach/service, and teaching program to: 1) build greater capacity within fishery management agencies in quantitative methods; 2) improve quantitative methods for assessing fish stocks; 3) assist agencies in the use of model-based approaches in decision making; and 4) develop a better understanding of fish community and population dynamic.