Mt. Hope Bay Symposium

The Mt. Hope Bay Symposium, hosted by SMAST, brings together scientists, managers and regulators concerned with this ecosystem and its commercial fisheries. Presentations will be given on physical processes within the bay, the effectiveness of various fish population models, the state of water quality and dissolved oxygen within Mt. Hope Bay and Narragansett Bay, and the role of natural predators on the local winter flounder population. The PI will present trawl data from Narragansett and Mt. Hope Bays that show trends in fish abundance within the lower portion of Mt. Hope Bay that indicate a shift from bottom dwelling fish, such as winter flounder, towards mid-water column fish. Such a shift can often be indicative of eutrophication effects due to increased nutrient loading.