Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Florida Atlantic University Department of Ocean Engineering
Florida State University Marine Laboratory
University of Georgia Marine Institute
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
The University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
University of Southern Mississippi College of Marine Sciences
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Rosenstiel Institute of Atmospheric and Marine Sciences
Scripps Institute of Oceanography
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Texas A & M University at Galveston
The University of Texas
Marine Laboratory
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
University of Washington School of Oceanography
Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography
Virtual population analysis is a technique that allows researchers and fisheries managers to assess different regulatory scenarios using computer simulations to determine the affect on fish populations.
What, for example, would be the effect of increasing the minimum size limit of a species from, say fourteen to sixteen inches? A virtual population analysis can give you the answer.
Most of us could only guess that fishermen would be able to keep fewer fish; and that, over time, the average size of the fish caught would increase. The spawning potential might also increase, and that might result in more fish eventually being caught -- albeit regulations might require that many of them be released. Still, in the final analysis, fishermen might benefit by an improved catch per unit of effort (or CPUE, as it is commonly known).
For many species, basic life history information is largely unknown; and research for such species is focused on obtaining such basic data.
The laboratories across the country that strive to shed light on fishes and the fisheries that depend on them are the marine labs listed here. Of course, these marine labs also research other phenomena of the sea - marine chemistry, geology, oceanography,and such.
If you have an interest in ongoing research or the latest research findings on your favorite species of fish or the habitat on which it depends, click on one of these links to discover who's doing what with whom...
A look below...
Dinopysis
ASchool of Yellowfin Tuna
