AEI 13:295-300 (2021)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00407

ABSTRACT: Shellfish growers routinely observe fish and invertebrates interacting with their aquaculture gear. To quantitatively assess these interactions, underwater action cameras (GoPro®) were used to document fish and invertebrate activity in and around floating oyster bags, cages, and a natural marsh habitat on an oyster farm in the Little Egg Harbor region of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, USA, in 2018. A free and open-source event-logging software was used to analyze video files. A total of 21 species from 4 phyla were identified across all days and sites. Nekton were quantified from continuously recorded video using the MaxN abundance metric, defined as the maximum number of individuals of a given species present within each 1 min segment of video. Species of both ecological and economic importance in the local ecosystem used the 3 intertidal habitats. Abundance and community composition observed around oyster cages differed from that around floating oyster bags and marsh edge; the latter 2 habitats were not significantly different. Juvenile fish were frequently observed, suggesting that the oyster farm may provide similar natural history functions as other natural marsh habitat.

KEY WORDS: Oyster aquaculture · Fish habitat · Ecosystem service · Video-based observation research · BORIS

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Cite this article as: Shinn JP, Munroe DM, Rose JM (2021) A fish’s-eye-view: accessible tools to document shellfish farms as marine habitat in New Jersey, USA. Aquacult Environ Interact 13:295-300. https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00407 Export citation Share:    Facebook - - Bluesky - linkedIn