GOMESA Application Details

Internal Project Number: 271346
1. Title of Project: Development of a stock enhancement program for the Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma
2. Location of Project: Cedar Pointresearch site, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs MS.
3. Requesting Organization: The University of Southern Mississippi
4a. Name: Erica Kennedy
4b. Position
4c. Phone Number: 601-266-4119
4d. Fax Number
4e. Address Line 1: 118 College Drive, #5157
4e. Address Line 2
4e. City, State Zip: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
4f. Email: ORA-Pam@usm.edu
5. FundingRequested: $1,203,837
Awarded Amount:
6. Other State or Federal Funding Sources: No
7a. Amount of Additional Funds
7b. Source of Additional Funds
8. Total Project Funds Amount: $1,203,837
9. Project Description/Overview: Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is one of the most popular coastal fishes in Mississippi. It is highly sought after by recreational anglers due to its fine flesh quality. Data on the abundance of Southern Flounder in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico including Mississippi are limited and insufficient in most areas, but substantial declines have been documented in various parts of the range involving overfishing and environmental stressors including temperature and salinity stress. In Mississippi, recreational and commercial landings fluctuate annually, however the trend since 2012 suggests that the fishery is in a state of decline. The Southern Flounder’s popularity as a recreational fish combined with its dependence on inshore habitats affected by environmental stressors such as pollution, temperature rise, and extended low salinity stress make it potentially vulnerable to depletion. Fluctuating abundance leads to an unreliable market supply and negatively impacts recreational fishing opportunities. Aquaculture could contribute to addressing the insufficiencies and fluctuations of the resource by providing an independent source of fingerlings to support recruitment in a stock enhancement program where Southern Flounder juveniles produced in aquaculture are released in Mississippi coastal habitats. Stock enhancement will provide managers with an additional tool, alongside traditional fishing regulation approaches, to manage and maintain a sustainable fishery for this species. This project thus aims to establish the culture of juvenile Southern Flounder in Mississippi as a source of seeds for stock enhancement. This will involve acquiring a captive broodstock for seed supply, developing effective spawning protocols, optimizing larval culture techniques to produce weaned juveniles for release, selecting appropriate sites for release, optimizing tagging and release protocols, and quantifying success of releases, and grow out. Methods and technologies developed for both culture and stocking will be made available to potential industry partners interested in producing Southern Flounder for transfer through sponsored onsite and off-site hands-on workshops thereby mitigating the risk of poor performance in the existing industry and creating the potential for new job opportunities and workforce development.
10. Project Goals/Objectives: The goals will be to: 1) Develop a captive broodstock population a) Collect 80-100 adult flounder by collaborating with DMRand the local charter fleet, b) Develop a method to identify the phenotypic sex of candidate brooders, c) Develop volitional/spontaneous spawning techniques, d) Develop induced/alternative spawning techniques. 2) Produce juveniles in recirculating systems a) Optimize larval feeding protocols, b) Optimize post-larval husbandry conditions protocols, 3) Develop tools for stock enhancement and implement pilot releases a) Optimize transport and release protocols, b) Identify the best candidate locations for releases, c) Develop tools for large-scale genetic tagging and monitoring of stock enhancement and domestication of Southern Flounder d) Conduct pilot short-term releases of juveniles. 4) Workforce development and technology transfer,continue to partner with local highschool aquaculture programs, the private sector and DMR to provide educational opportunities, training, and internships.
11. Which of the following authorized uses set forth in the GOMESA Act does this project fall under?

(A) Projects and activities for the purpose of coastal protection, including conservation, coastal restoration, hurricane protection, and infrastructure directly affected by coastal wetlands losses

(B) Mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural resources.: Yes: The trend since 2012 suggests that the Southern Flounder fishery is in a state of decline. The Southern Flounder's popularity as a recreational fish combined with its dependence on inshore habitats affected by environmental stressors such as pollution, make it potentially vulnerable to depletion. This project could contribute to mitigating damage of their source by providing a fishery-independent source of fingerlings to support a restoration program. Recruitment of Southern Flounder to the fishery could be increased through the stocking of juveniles produced in aquaculture and released in Mississippi coastal habitats.

(C) Implementation of a federally-approved marine, coastal, or conservation management plan.: Yes: This project addresses Goal 4, Enhance Community Resilience and Goal 5, Restore and Revitalize the Gulf Economy. Recreational fishing has been impacted by freshwater flooding, hurricanes, habitat degradation, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Stock enhancement will improve the availability and consistency of Southern Flounder and thereby facilitate resilience in the recreational fishing community. The project will enhance economic activity by stimulating the use of working waterfronts and fishing-related economic activities. Aquaculture technologies can be transferred to facilitate the development of an industry that could revitalize the economy in local communities.

(D) Mitigation of the impact of Outer Continental Shelf activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects.

12. Project Timetable/Milestones: July 2026-June 2027: 1. Collect brood animals, 2. Develop genotyping panel, genotype broodstock, 3. Quarantine transfer to maturation tanks and sex and condition broodstock, 4. Induce reproductively mature individuals to spawn, 5. Rear larvae to juveniles to develop culture protocols, 6. Pilot scale release of juveniles - Coordinating with state management agency. July 2027-June 2028 1. Collect brood animals to supplement inventory and improve genetic diversity, 2. Genotype broodstock, 3. Quarantine transfer to existing maturation tanks and sex and condition broodstock, 4. Induce reproductively mature individuals to spawn, 5. Improve and optimize culture protocols, transport and release protocols, 6. Assess release locations to improve post release survival, 7. Establish genetic tagging using the genotyping panel and fish recovered during release trials. July 2028-June 2029 1. Collect brood animals to supplement inventory and improve genetic diversity, 2. Genotype broodstock, 3. Quarantine transfer to existing maturation tanks and sex and condition broodstock, 4. Induce reproductively mature individuals to spawn, 5. Improve and optimize culture protocols, transport and release protocols, 6. Release fingerlings, 7. Transfer technology.
13. Project Timing: Short-term
14. Current status of architectural/engineering plans & specifications for this project (if applicable):: N/A Funds Not Budgeted

15. In what way does this project meet the goals and objectives of the Department of Marine Resources, which includes enhancing, protecting and conserving the marine interest of Mississippi for present and future generations?: This project promotes sustainability and conservation of marine resources by providing stock enhancement as an additional tool for DMR to use in their fishery management plans. The program also potentially relieves pressure on wild harvests by facilitating the development of commercial aquaculture. Concurrently, the program promotes economic and workforce development through aquaculture industry development.

16. Estimated Years To Completion: 3
17. Estimated Completion Date: 6/30/2029

Budget:

Salaries,Wages, Fringe: $503,706
Travel: $19,592
Architecture & Engineering
Legal
Consulting
Construction
Site Work
Equipment: $38,000
Indirects: $374,118
Other: $268,421
Total: $1,203,837


Application Submission Date: 08/27/2025
Fiscal Year: 2027
Project Status
Application Status: Submitted
Meets Criteria
Internal Notes:
Attachments:: https://gomesa_internal/attachments/GOMESA_1346_COMPLETE.pdf
Hyperlink:: Attachments

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