UNH has been a hub for winter flounder research for more than a decade with a goal of developing a responsible approach to stocking winter flounder to help restore the wild populations. Faculty, research scientists, and students work together to improve culture protocols and develop responsible stock enhancement approaches for this commercially and recreationally important fish. In addition, collaborative research projects with the fishing industry contribute to the overarching goal to protect and restore winter flounder populations; these projects compliment the hatchery work as they provide valuable knowledge of winter flounder life history and ecology.
Each year winter flounder are reared at the UNH Coastal Marine Laboratory, part of the Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex in New Castle, NH. Commercial fishermen capture a local wild broodstock which are spawned in the hatchery. Fish are reared to the juvenile stage at which point they are tagged and released in a variety of experimental settings. The knowledge gained from these studies is scaled up and transferred to other New England communities who want to rebuild their depleted winter flounder populations.
UNH Project Participants:
Dr. Elizabeth Fairchild, principal investigator
Nathan Rennels, research scientist
Kimberly Little, lab technician
Kristin Garabedian, lab technician
Dr. Ken La Valley, NH Sea Grant
Dr. Erik Chapman, NH Sea Grant
and numerous undergraduate students!
