Registration Opens — Prospect Reef Resort (15:00 - 18:00)

GCFI Board of Directors Meeting (19:00)

Registration Opens — H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (07:00)

Welcome — Mrs. Sheila Brathwaite, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour

Invocation

Opening Remarks

Mrs. Sheila Brathwaite, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour

Dr. Alejandro Acosta — Chairman, Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute

Honourable Mr. Ronnie Skelton — Acting Chief Minister

Honourable Mr. Alvin Christopher — Minister for Natural Resources and Labour

The Marine Science Center — Dr. Charles Wheatley, President, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College

The Fisheries of the BVI — Mr. Bertrand Lettsome, Chief Conservation and Fisheries Officer

Protecting the BVI’s Marine Resources — Mr. Joseph Smith-Abbot, National Parks Trust

Inauguration of Conference — Mr. Leroy Creswell, Executive Secretary , GCFI

KEYNOTE ADDRESS — "Science is Not Enough" — Jean-Michel Cousteau, President, Ocean Futures Society

Break (09:40 - 10:00)

MANAGEMENT AND SOCIO-ECONOMICS OF MARINE FISHERIES (10:00 - 13:00)

Hoggarth, D.D. — Lessons from a Shaky Start for the Oistins Fisheries Co-Management Pilot Project (OFCoMP) in Barbados

Pomeroy, R. and T. Goetze — Co-managed Marine Protected Areas: A Case Study of Friends of Nature, Belize

Simmons, B. — Community-based Management of Coastal Resources in Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua

Soeftestad, L.T. — Coastal and Marine Resources in the Caribbean:: Local Co-management and Regional Knowledge Management

Pomeroy, R. et al. — Comparative Analysis of Co-management Arrangements in the Caribbean

McConney, P. et al. — Caribbean Coastal Resources Management — Part 2: Guidelines for Success

Kojis, B.L. — Efforts to Improve and Managed the Fisheries of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Joseph, K. — Socio-economic Analysis of Gender in the Fishery Resource Management in the Municipality of Pearl Lagoon/RAAS, Nicaragua

Murray, P.A. et al. — Cultural Preferences as Drivers of Fishing Effort in the Eastern Caribbean

Lunch Break (13:00-14:00)

Turbe, K. — Changes in a Caribbean Fishery: Twenty five Years of Commercial Fishing in the British Virgin Islands

Solares-Leal, I. and C. Alvarez-Gil — Socioeconomic Processes in Punta Allen, A Coastal Community Located in a Marine Protected Area

Matos-Caraballo, D. et al. — Comprehensive Census of the Marine Commercial Fishery of Puerto Rico - 2002.

Haughton, M. and J. Mateo — Strengthening Regional Management of the Spiny Lobster and Queen Conch Resources in the Caribbean

Arceo, P. et al. — Socio-economic Aspects of the Octopus maya and Octopus vulgaris Fishery off Yucatan, Mexico

Mateo, J. et al. — Socioeconomic Profile of the Queen Conch, Strombus gigas and Spiny lobster, Panulirus argus Fisheries in Jaragua National park

Shivlani, M. — A Characterization Study of the Economic and Sociocultural Impacts of Fish Traps in the US Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands)

Caesar, E.D. and H.A. Oxenford — Testing a Collapsible Trap Design in the Artisanal Trap Fishery of Tobago, Eastern Caribbean

Monroy García, C. et al. — Fuel Subsidies and Its Implications for the Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) Fishery off the Campeche Bank

GOVERNOR’S RECEPTION (19:00)

Graham, G. and R. Rayburn — Reflections on the Summit for the Sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Industry

Criales, M.M. et al. — Transport of Pink Shrimp Postlarvae into Florida Bay - via Florida Shelf

Diop, H. et al. — Predicting White Shrimp, Penaeus setiferus, Abundance Based on Ecosystem Parameters and Pevious Live States of Shrimp

MacKenzie, C.L. — The Commercial Oysters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea: Biology, Ecology, and Fisheries

Wakida Kusunoki, A.T. — Seabob Shrimp Small-scale Fishery in Southeastern Mexico

Ríos Lara, V. et al. — Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, Stock Assessment: Catch Structure Changes in the Yucatan Shelf

Prada, M.C. et al. — Is the Industrial Lobster Fishery on the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina a Resilient Fishery?

Gordon, S. — Spatial and Temporal Variations in Postlarval Settlement of the Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, between 1992 and 2003 within Cas Cay/Mangrove Lagoon and Great St. James Marine Reserve, St. Thomas, USVI

Benetti, D. et al. — Offshore Aquaculture and Hatchery Technology of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) and Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis) in the Caribbean

Lin, J. — Marine Ornamental Shrimp: Aquaculture, Biology, and Conservation (ABC)

Power, R. et al. — Preliminary Investigations into the Feasibility of Small-scale Commercial Aquaculture of Panulirus argus, Based on Collection of Pueruli from the Wild

Ragbirsingh, Y. and G. de Souza — Site Suitability for Aquaculture in Caroni River Basin, Trinidad Using GIS

Daves, N. and J. Field — Recent Developments in CITES Concerning the International Trade in Queen Conch (Strombus gigas)

Theile, S. — Status of the Queen Conch Stocks, Management and Trade in the Caribbean - A CITES Review

García-Saez, C. and M. Valle-Esquivel — Assessing Populations of Queen Conch from the Mexican Caribbean: Maximum Sustainable Yield Levels and Stage-classified Demographic Models

Clark, S.A. and A.J. Danylchuk — Status of Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) off Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas

Valle-Esquivel, M. — An Assessment of the Queen Conch Fishery in Puerto Rico

Schapira, G. et al. — The Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) Fishery in the Archipelago de Los Roques National Park (Venezuela), Through the Study of Shell Middens (Student)

Aldana Aranda, D. et al. — Growth and Reproductive Seasons of Queen Conch, Strombus gigas, in Xel-Há Park Mexico

Brito-Manzano, N. and D. Aldana Aranda — Experimental Culture of Strombus gigas of Egg Masses from natural Ovoposition During Four Years from Reproductive Seasons in Alacranes Reef

Clerveaux, W. et al. — Variations in Queen Conch Morphology: Management Implications in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Shawl, A. et al. — Growth of Florida Fighting Conch, Strombus alatus, in Recirculating Systems

Avila-Poveda, O. — Preliminary Data of Gametogenic Cycle of Strombus gigas from San Andres Island, Colombia (Student)

Brito-Manzano, N. and D. Aldana Aranda — Larval Organogenesis and Growth of Strombus gigas (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda Strombidae)

Acosta, A. and P. Dixon ¾ Age, Growth, and Reproduction of the Lane Snapper, (Lutjanus synagris) in the Florida Keys, Florida

Allen, Y. et al. ¾ Using Sidescan Sonar to Quantify the Distribution and Extent of Oyster Reefs in Nearshore Coastal Louisiana

Arena, P. et al. — Fish Colonization of Newly Deployed Vessel Reefs off Southeast Florida: Preliminary Results

Avila-Poveda, O. et al. — Body Histological Structure of Strombus gigas Linnaeus, 1768 (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Strombidae) (Student)

Brown-Peterson, N.J. et al. — Getting the Word Out: English Language Publication of Undergraduate Student Research in Latin America

Burton, M. et al. — Riley’s Hump, South Tortugas Ecological Reserve: A Preliminary Comparison of Snapper and Grouper Abundance Before and After Marine Reserve Designation

Bush, P. et al. — The West End Little Cayman Nassau Grouper Spawning Aggregation, Cayman Islands BWI: Monitoring & Management, Methods & Results

Cass-Calay, S.L. — Standardized Catch Rates of Juvenile Goliath Grouper, Epinephelus itajara, from the Everglades National Park Creel Survey, 1972 - 1999

Corbalá Bermejo, et al. — Malacofauna in the Biosphere´s Reserve of "Los Petenes" Campeche

Cuevas, E. et al. — Cobertura y distribución de gorgónidos en la costa oriente del estado de Yucatán, México

Davis, M. and A. Shawl — Fighting Conch, Strombus alatus and Strombus pugilus: New Food Candidates for Aquaculture

Delgado, G.A. and R.A. Glazer — Do Translocated Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) Displace Native Conch? Evaluating a Restoration Strategy

Rodriguez-Ferrer, G. et al. — Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans) Fishing in Puerto Rico

Fischer, A.J. and C. Wilson — Migratory Patterns of Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, in Louisiana Waters Based on Sr:Ca Ratios in Otoliths

González, A. and D. Torruco — Submerged and Insular Vegetation in the Reefs of Campeche, Mexico

Gore, S. and A. Llewellyn — Distribution and Abundance of Strombus gigas in the British Virgin Islands

Greathouse, R. and M. Moe — Preliminary Experiments on Breeding the Blue Devil Damselfish, Chrysiptera cyanea, for Commercial Ornamental Production

Gutiérrez, A.M. et al. — Distribution and Density of queen conch (Mesograstropoda: Strombus gigas) in San Andrés Island, Colombia, West Caribbean

Hemphill, A. et al. — Seasonal Dynamics of Ichthyofauna Closely Associated with Pelagic Sargassum in Broward County, Florida, USA: Preliminary Results

Herzlieb, S. et al. — Monitoring and Assessment of Coral Disease in the USVI: A Temporal and Geographic Comparison of Incidence of Coral Disease in Essential Fish Habitats

Heyman, W. and N. Requena — A Protocol and Database for Monitoring Multi-species Spawning Aggregation Sites in the Meso-American Reef and Wide Caribbean

Kadison, E. et al. — Spawning Aggregation Sites in the USVI: Considerations in Establishing Marine Protected Areas

Kazmierczak, R.F. et al. — The Effect of Non-Representative Data on Harvest Effort Calculations in the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Industry

Keithly, W.R. et al. — An Economic Analysis of the Southeast U.S. Shrimp Industry Response to an Increasing Import Base

Kopp, D. et al. — Nyctemeral Variations in the Fish Community of the Seagrass Beds of Guadeloupe Island (Lesser Antilles)

Lazar, K.E. et al. — Relatively Low Densities of Diadema antillarum on the Florida Reef Tract do not Indicate Population Recovery

Leber, K. and N. Brennen ¾ Are Hatcheries Replenishing or Displacing Wild Stocks: Assessing Density-dependence in Nursery Habitats of a Marine Carnivore

Lugo, M. and E. Weil ¾ Present status of Diadema antillarum Populations Around the Southwest Coast of Puerto Rico

Maidens, J. et al. — A Region-wide Analysis of Overfishing Pressure on Coral Reefs

Martinez, F.A. et al. — The Role of Post-settlement Movement in the Grouping Behavior of a Coral Reef Fish

Mateo, I. et al. — Monitoring of Tropical Shallw Water Fish Communities Around a Liquefied Natural Gas Cogeneration Plant in Guayanilla Bay, Puerto Rico

Matos-Caraballo, D. et al. — Portrait of the Fishery of Sparisoma viride and Sparisoma chrysopterum in Puerto Rico during 1988 - 2001.

Nieland, D.J. and C. A. Wilson, III — Geographic Variation in Longevity and Growth of Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, in Louisiana, USA

Novak, R. et al. — Venting: Releasing Fish with Ruptured Swim Bladders

Peabody, M.B. et al. — The Fidelity of Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus, in Petroleum Platforms and Artificial Reefs in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Reyes, O. et al. — Comparative Analysis of the Structure of Two Reef fish Communities at Two Different Sites of the Mexican Caribbean

Ríos-Lara, V. and S.S. Marques — Lobster Panulirus argus Suitable Habitat in the Yucatan Shelf

Rodríguez-Gil, L.A. and J.A. Tello Cetina — Avances en el uso del AND Mitocondrial y Enzimaas de Restricción para Determinar el Auténtico Origen de los Alimentos de los Caracoles Marinos Strombus gigas (L. y Strombus costatus (Gmelin)

Rodríguez-Gil, L.A. and Y.M. Rodríguez-Romero — Produccón de Masas de Huevos del Caracol Marino Strombus gigas (L.) Usando Encierros en el parque Nacional Marino Arrecife de Alacranes, Yucatán, México

Spring, A. and M. Davis — Recommendations for Culturing Juvenile Queen Conch, Strombus gigas, for Restocking and Commercial Purposes

Shawl, A. — Developing Education and Outreach Tools for Queen Conch Conservation

Schull, J. et al. — Comparison of Ageing Methods for Juvenile Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara) in Southwest Florida

Sikkel, P.C. et al. — In situ Evidence for Ectoparasites as Proximate Causes of Cleaning Interactions in Reef Fish

Sweat, D.E. and J.M. Stevely — Sponge Biomass Estimates in the Florida Keys, USA

Theisen, T.C. et al. — Population Structure of Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri, in the Western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico

Vasquez, J. — Mapping Subtidal Habitats in the US Virgin Islands Using Sidescan Sonar

Wakida Kusunoki, A.T. — Bycatch Analysis in Seabob Shrimp Small-scale Fishery in Campeche Coast, Mexico

Wilson, C.A. et al. — Fate of Regulatory Discards from the Red Snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, Commercial Fishery in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: An Update

Wilson, S. et al. — Censussing of Herbivorous Fish Assemblages: Effects of Observer Bias

Woods, M. et al. — Demographic differences in reproductive biology of female red snapper in the northern Gulf of Mexico

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (10:00 - 13:20) — Session located at Bitter End Resort

Bustamante, G. — Applying an Ecoregional Approach to Select Potential World Heritage Sites of Marine Natural Value: A Promising Tool to Conserve Transboundary and Large-scale Biological Corridors

Nichols, K.E. — Protected Areas and Associated Sustainable Livelihoods: An Imperative Sustainable Development Consideration of OECS-SIDS

Danylchuk, A.J. — Resource Management in South Eleuthera, Bahamas: Can a Marine Reserve Save the ‘Holy Trinity’?

David, A. — Susceptibility of Reef Fish to Fishing in the NE Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Areas

Kendall, M.S. et al. — Seascape Ecology of Reef Fish at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Wild, R.G. et al. — The Turks and Caicos Conservation Fund: Towards Financial Sustainability for Turks and Caicos Marine Protected Areas

Semmens, B.X. et al. — Habitat Mediated Space Use in Reef Fish: Implications for the Design of Protected Areas

Failler, P. and A. Cloarec — The Use of Indicators to Measure the Performance of the Marine Protected Areas: Relevance and Limits

Nemeth, R.S. and A. Quandt — Differences in Fish Assemblage Structure Following the Establishment of the Marine Conservation District, St. Thomas USVI

Hutchinson, D.J. et al. — Institutional Fit in Tropical Ecosystems: A Test Using Marine Protected Areas

Ransom, H. et al. — Using Mobile Survey Hydroacoustics for Fisheries Assessment

Johnston, S.V. et al. — Hydroacoustic Evaluation of Spawning Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus) Aggregations Along the Coast of Puerto Rico in the Spring of 2002 and 2003.

Rivera, J.A. et al. — Detection of Fish Aggregations from Reef Habitats Mapped with High Resolution Side Scan Sonar Imagery

Taylor, J.C. et al. — Coupling Hydroacoustics and Geostatistics to Assess Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations

Gledhill, C. — A Fisheries Acoustic Survey of Reef Fish within Two Marine Protected Areas on the West Florida Shelf

Mason, D.M. et al. — Technological Approaches for Understanding the Functional Relationship Between Reef Habitat Quality and Fish Abundance and Performance

Gleason, A.C.R. et al. — Acoustic Seabed Classification, Acoustic "Complexity", and Grouper Abundance in a Fore-reef Environment

Break (10:20 - 10:40)

Mills, A. et al. — The Use of Geographical Information Systems in Fisheries Management in the BVI

Weaver, D.C. et al. — Deep Reef Fishes and Multibeam Bathymetry of the Tortugas South Ecological Reserve, Florida USA.

Weaver, D.C. et al. — Fish Habitat Characterization at the Flower Garden Banks NMS Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (NW Gulf of Mexico) using Multibeam Mapping and Submersible Technology

Schmahl, G.P. et al. — High-resolution Multibeam Mapping and Habitat Characterization of Topographic Features in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico

Rand, P.S. et al. — A Roving Diver Video Method for Quantifying Size Distribution, Density, and Three-dimensional Spatial Structure of Nassau Grouper Aggregations

Timko, M.A. et al. — Using Acoustic Tags to Track Fish in Three Dimensions with Sub-meter Resolutions

Glazer, R.A. et al. — Applying Acoustic Telemetry to the Design and evaluation of Marine Fishery Reserves-A New Application for an Established Technology

Clark, R. et al. — Fish Habitat Utilization in a Puerto Rico Coral Reef Ecosystem

Ferreira, M. et al. — Preliminary Evaluation of Artificial Reef Fish Colonization in Punta Palmar, Yucatán, México

McClellan, D.B. and M.W. Miller — Fisheries and Reef Status of Navassa Island.

Sheridan, P. et al. — Do Fish or Lobster Traps Impact Coral Reef Ecosystems? An Update

Devine, B. and C. Rogers — Mapping Marine Populations

Rogers, C. — Will the Major Reef-building Species Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral) Recover in the US and British Virgin Islands?

Miller, J. et al. — A Tale of Two Reefs: comparison of Coral Cover and Sample Design on Reefs Around Virgin Island National Park

Hill, R.L. — The Intersection of Essential Habitat and Conspecific Attraction: A Great Place for Reef fish to Settle

Break (16:20 – 16:40)

MARINE SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE GULF AND CARIBBEAN (16:20 - 18:00)

WELCOME — Jim Franks

OPENING REMARKS

Bob Glazer — GCFI Education Initiative

Richard Murphay — Director of Science and Education — Ocean Futures

Mike Spranger — Marine and Ocean Science Education Collaborations: Bridging the Gap Between Scientists and Educators

Karen Blyler — Making it Connect: Linking Educators and Youth to Real Science

ROUNDTABLE CO-CHAIRS — Sharon Walker and Clive Petrovic

RAPPORTEURS — LeRoy Creswell and Hazel Oxenford

Dailey, W. — Status of the Recreational Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) Fishery in North America. (Student)

Quinn, N.J. — Assessing Pelagic Fish Stocks off Jamaica Using Game Fishing Tournament Results

Rodriguez-Ferrer, G. et al. — An Overview of Recreational Fishing Tournaments in Puerto Rico

Oh, C.O., et al. — Understanding Angler Preferences and Tradeoffs for Harvest Regulations in the Texas Red Drum Fishery (Student)

Munro, J.L. and L. Blok — The Status of Stocks of Groupers and Hinds in the Northeastern Caribbean

Paris, C. et al. — Modeling Larval Transport from Grouper (Serranidae) and Snapper (Lutjanidae) Spawning Aggregations in the Mesoamerican Region

Schull, J. and A. Eklund — Fishery Dependent Sampling of Nassau Grouper Spawning Aggregations in Long Island, Bahamas

Álvarez, B. et al. — Spawning Frequency and Fecundity of the Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus) in the Los Roques Archipelago National Park, Venezuela (Student)

Franks, J.S. — First Record of Goliath Grouper, Epinephelus itajara, in Mississippi Coastal Waters With Comments on the Occurrence of Red Grouper, Epinephelus morio, off Mississippi

Puerto, E. et al. — Food Habits of Juveniles of Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci, Pisces: Serranidae), Throughout the North Coast of Yucatan (Student)

Sadovy, Y. et al. — Spawning Aggregation Research Activities of SCRFA (Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations)

Whiteman, E. et al. — Characterizing Multi-species Spawning Aggregations in the USVI

Lunch Break (12:20 -13:20)

BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF PELAGIC, NEAR-SHORE, AND REEF FISHES (13:20 – 17:20)

Grant, S. and J. Rennie — Is CPUE a True Indicator of Species Abundance?: Case of Gouyave Surface Longline Fisheries (Student)

Mahon, R. et al. — Preparation for Expansion of Domestic Fisheries for Large Pelagic Species by CARICOM Countries

Murray, A.O. and K.A. Aiken — A Study of the Biology and Population Dynamics of Selected Reef Fish and the Fisheries Activities at Whitehouse, Westmoreland

Frias-Torres, S. — A Potential Conservation Strategy for Large Pelagic Fish (Whale Sharks, Tunas, Billfish, and Swordfish) in the Tropical Western Atlantic

Hoffmayer, E.R. et al. — Larval and Juvenile Fishes Associated with Pelagic Sargassum and Frontal Zones in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Lozano, E.G. and C.W. Olaya-Nieto — Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factor of Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) in the Cispata Bay, Colombia

Murie, D.J. and D.C. Parkyn — Using Soft Fin Rays as a Non-lethal Aging Method for Tropical and Warm-temperate Marine Fishes

Kishore, R. and F. Solomon — Age and Growth Studies of Caranx hippos (Crevalle jack) from Trinidad using Hard-parts

Olaya-Nieto, C.W. et al. — Reproductive Biology of the Striped Mojarra Eugerres plumieri in the Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia

Pattengill-Semmens, C.V. — A Biogeographical Analysis of Reef Fishes on Cozumel Island, Mexico

Cummings, N. and D. Devries — An Overview of Length and Age Composition Sampling in the King and Spanish Mackerel Fisheries in the Southeastern U.S

Presentation of Student Awards

Closing Remarks and Adjournment