Snapper Citizen Science
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Snapper Citizen Science
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Having a better understanding of what snapper and lobster eat across the Australia's NSW coastline will provide insights into the role these fish have on subtidal reef ecosystems. It will also provide detail about how urchins fit into their diets, enabling subtidal reefs to be managed effectively. There are concerns about the potential for urchins to overgraze reefs and we’re determined to find out if snapper and lobster are key predators that might control urchin numbers.
With your assistance, the researchers can achieve a broad sample collection in a way that impacts ecosystems the least, since you are already catching the target species.
So, next time you go fishing and keep a pink snapper, blue groper or an eastern rock lobster for the table, OzFish would like a stomach and small tissue sample. The researchers will look at the gut contents and do a stable isotope analysis on the collected samples.
They are interested in fish from nearshore areas in NSW and have provided examples of how to collect and handle the samples. They are not requesting you to go out and collect fish and lobsters on their behalf – rather, they want to sample the fish you are collecting for consumption. This will ensure this research will have the least ecological impact possible.
WHAT
Help better understand the role of urchins in the diets of snapper and lobster in NSW Australia
HOW
The next time you keep a snapper or lobster for the table, take a small tissue and stomach sample, freeze it and drop it at a designated collection point for lab analysis.
WHERE (LAND)
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WHERE (SEA)
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UNDERSTANDING HOW THE DIFFERENT FISH SPECIES CONTRIBUTE TO CONTROLLING URCHINS WILL ULTIMATELY ALLOW SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT OF NEARSHORE AREAS OF NSW, KEEPING HEALTHY HABITATS FOR LOCAL LOBSTER AND SNAPPER POPULATIONS.
Duncan Copeland, co-founder Free Range Ocean
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Help better understand the role of urchins in the diets of snapper and lobster in NSW Australia