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BIDDEFORD, Maine

James Sulikowski investigates life history of Atlantic wolffish and cusk with $33,000 Northeast Consortium grant

James Sulikowski, Ph.D., University of New England associate professor of marine sciences, is principal investigator for a $33,000 development grant from the Northeast Consortium, to investigate the utility of settlement collectors as a means to  investigate the early life history of Atlantic wolffish and cusk captured in the Gulf of Maine.

Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) and cusk (Brosme brosme) are found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Despite this large geographic distribution very little is known about the biology and habitat preferences of these species.

Due to this paucity in data, both cusk and Atlantic wolffish  are considered species of concern, largely due to the lack of fundamental information on habitat requirements, especially early life history, nursery areas, spawning areas, and stock structure, for these fish.

This data is needed by fishery biologists to develop population models that are essential for the proper management of any fish species.

To help fill in these research gaps, Dr. Sulikowski is  working in collaboration with Steve Jury, Ph.D.(Marical Inc.) and Kohl Kanwit (Maine Department of Marine Resources) to investigate the utility of settlement collectors as a means to  investigate the early life history of the two species.

Settlement collectors are modified lobster traps filled with rocks, and it is hypothesized that they will  act as a substrate for newly settled juvenile cusk and wolffish.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.