Artificial Reef Projects Announced
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) announces new research projects under the Artificial Reef Research Assistantship Program (ARRAP).
The program provides graduate assistantship stipends of $30,000 annually, for up to three years, to Master of Science/Arts students enrolled full-time at Louisiana colleges and universities who are involved in research relevant to the Louisiana Artificial Reef Program (LARP). Students receiving assistantships also are required to intern with LARP for at least 100 hours each year with a mentor assigned by the program. Louisiana Sea Grant administers the assistantships with funding provided by LDWF.
Projects and students selected are:
Allison Noble, Louisiana State University (LSU)
Principal Investigator: Cassandra Glaspie (LSU)
Title: Comparing Patterns of Primary and Secondary Productivity Among Estuarine Artificial Reefs and Soft Sediment Habitats
To ensure that nearshore reefs are placed and designed to maximize long-term biomass production, site characteristics – such as water current velocity, salinity and turbidity – must be examined to determine how those factors influence such productivity. Researchers for this project aim to compare the primary and secondary productivity of shallow-water artificial reefs and their impact on fish biomass production. The project is designed to increase understanding of how primary and secondary productivity on artificial reefs relates to local environmental conditions, providing insights for future reef deployments.
Student: To Be Determined
Principal Investigator: Jerrod Penn (LSU)
Title: Gulf Anglers’ Preferences and Economic Value of Fish Attracting Devices and Artificial Reefs
Fish Attracting Devices (FADs) and Artificial Reefs (ARs) are popular with offshore recreational anglers because they attract pelagic species like tuna, mahimahi, wahoo and billfish. At the same time, recreational fishermen feel FADs and ARs create crowding and hypercompetition for the catch they attract. In this project, recreational fisher attitudes towards FADs will be surveyed, and the economic impacts of artificial reefs will be calculated. Results will help fisheries managers in making regulatory decisions.
Student: To Be Determined
Principal Investigator: Brian Sidlauskas, Tulane University
Tiitle: Linking Imaging Sonar and Sampling to Understand How the Fishes of Lake Pontchartrain Utilize Artificial Reefs
The project will use specimen collection, Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar (ARIS 3000) technology and machine learning to monitor fish groups, quantify biomass and measure nekton behaviors on four artificial reefs in Lake Pontchartrain. Researchers will sample and compare reef-associated fish assemblages to adjacent, mud-bottom regions. The project aims to create a curated archive of specimens and an image library for training artificial intelligence.