Fisheries stock assessment, population dynamics, harvest policy development
CBL/UMCES
Solomons
MD
20688
USA
P.O. Box 38
(410) 326-7273
(410) 326-7302
Fisheries Science
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Contact Info
Michael Wilberg
...
Education
Ph.D. – Michigan State University, Fisheries & Wildlife 2005
M.S. – University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Natural Resources 2000
B.S. – Michigan State University, Fisheries & Wildlife 1997
Interests
My research focuses on improving fisheries management by applying population dynamics theory and quantitative methods to support sustainable fisheries management. Much of this work has focused on the population dynamics of important recreationally and commercially caught fishes. In this area, I have conducted research on estimating abundance and mortality rates and developing harvest policies to guide management. Other current interests include developing and evaluating stock assessment methods, incorporating model selection methods into fisheries management, and applying Bayesian statistics in fisheries applications.
Professional Experiences
Assistant professor, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 2006 – present.
Visiting assistant professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 2005 – 2006.
Abstracts
Estimation of recreational bag limit noncompliance: implications for yellow perch management in southern Lake Michigan. American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, 9/13/2006.
Yellow perch Perca flavescens support an important recreational fishery in Lake Michigan. However, abundance has decreased over the last 15 years prompting management agencies to reduce daily bag limits for this fishery. I estimated rate of noncompliance with bag limits for yellow perch in southern Lake Michigan and evaluated the effects of noncompliance with a simulation model. My approach for estimating noncompliance involved fitting negative binomial models to observations of catch per angler. I allowed for two populations of anglers, compliant and noncompliant, and estimated the proportion of noncompliant anglers. The distribution of catch per angler for both groups followed a negative binomial distribution with shared mean and overdispersion parameters. For compliant anglers the probability mass of catches exceeding the bag limit were added to catches equal to the bag limit. The estimated rate of noncompliance was highest (about 10%) for the jurisdiction with the lowest bag limit and was lower for other areas. When I applied these estimates of noncompliance in a population simulation model, they had relatively small effects on outcomes from different management actions, indicating that efforts to increase compliance with bag limits may not be necessary.
Recent Publications
Wilberg, M. J., and J. R. Bence. 2006. Performance of time-varying catchability estimators in statistical catch-at-age analysis. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63:2275-2285.
Wilberg, M. J., J. R. Bence, B. Eggold, D. Makauskas, and D. Clapp. 2005. Dynamics of yellow perch in southwestern Lake Michigan during 1986-2002. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 25:1130-1152.
Wilberg, M. J., and B. P. Dreher. 2004. GENECAP: a program for analysis of multilocus genotype data for non-invasive sampling and capture-recapture population estimation. Molecular Ecology Notes 4:783-785.
Wilberg, M. J., C. R. Bronte, and M. J. Hansen. 2004. Fleet dynamics of the commercial lake trout fishery in Michigan waters of Lake Superior during 1929-1961. Journal of Great Lakes Research 30:252-266.
Wilberg, M. J., M. J. Hansen, and C. R. Bronte. 2003. Historic and modern abundance of wild lean lake trout in Michigan waters of Lake Superior: implications for restoration. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23:100-108.
Wilberg, M. J., J. R. Bence, and J. E. Johnson. 2002. Survival of juvenile lake trout stocked in western Lake Huron during 1974-1992. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22:213-218.
