Why Study Fish?

BRI staff biologists are experienced in the implementation and execution of field and analytical fisheries projects. Field projects include the capture, tagging, inventory, sampling, or collection of fish and/or their tissues. Analytical projects include designing and implementing biomonitoring programs and analyzing and interpreting data for the implications for human health and environment.

BRI’s fisheries program focuses on:

  • Contaminants monitoring and analyses
  • Mapping fish movements and habitat utilizations
  • Tributary surveys
  • Spawning surveys
  • Fish inventories
  • Biotelemetry
  • FERC compliance studies
  • eDNA sampling
  • Electrofishing
  • Fish passage studies
  • Toxicology analysis and interpretation

Download our fisheries flyer here.

Program Directors:

Contributing Staff:

Freshwater Fisheries

Freshwater fisheries projects involve: (1) contaminants monitoring and analyses; (2) mapping fish movements and habitat utilization; (3) tributary inspections; (4) spawning surveys; and (5) fish inventories.

Staff routinely work collaboratively with state and federal agencies, Ministries of the Environment and Health, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders on fisheries projects. As part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) compliance process, BRI routinely conducts projects requiring the sampling, contaminant analyses, and assessment of fish in hydroelectric reservoirs.

Examples of Contaminants Monitoring Projects:

  • FERC mercury monitoring among the Upper and Middle Dam Project, Maine (FERC #11834)
  • FERC mercury monitoring among the Flagstaff Storage Project, Maine (FERC #2612)
  • FERC Fifteen Mile Falls Project (FERC #2077), New Hampshire/Vermont
  • Androscoggin Lake Mercury Study

Examples of Movement Studies Projects

  • Brassua Lake/Misery Stream fish project
  • Western Maine fish tracking and habitat utilization project

Marine Fisheries

Marine fish projects may involve fisheries population dynamics and movement ecology. Marnie Fisheries lead Katrina Zarrella Smith is a quantitative fisheries ecologist who studies population dynamics—how aquatic animals grow, move, reproduce, and survive over time.

Her research combines hands-on field studies with advanced statistical and spatial modeling to understand how fished species and other aquatic organisms interact with their environment. She conducts fieldwork in oceans, lakes, and rivers, collecting data on both populations and environmental conditions, and uses acoustic telemetry to track the movements of animals beneath the water’s surface.

International Mercury Projects

BRI has developed a Global Biotic Mercury Synthesis (GBMS) database, the first of its kind, that is a compilation and synthesis of published fish, sea turtle, bird, and marine mammal mercury data collected from around the world.

BRI’s work with the U.S. Department of State and the United Nation’s Minamata Convention on Mercury has led to mercury monitoring projects around the world in the global effort to reduce mercury emissions and releases that harm wildlife and their environments, and which may negatively affect human health.

In collaboration with international governments and nongovernment organizations, BRI conducts monitoring in the following regions: