By Emma Fass, Summer Science Writing Intern
The American eel is a data-poor species, yet fisheries consider it a vital fish in the Chesapeake Bay because of increasing demand in Asian countries and its use as bait. Its population is also declining; in 2010 that there was a petition for it to be added to the Federal Endangered Species Act, although a lack of data prevented a definitive conclusion.
During her two-year Virginia Sea Grant graduate research fellowship, which began this June, Zoemma Warshafsky will be researching the parasitic nematode Anguillicoloides crassus as a possible cause for the shrinking population of American eel. The parasite attacks the eels’ swim bladders and is, therefore, suspected to affect the eels’ fitness. The nematode has been shown to cause declines in eel populations in other parts of the world, but little research has been done on it in the United States.
Warshafsky hopes to have a direct influence on policy by sharing her research with the American Eel Technical Committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which advises the American Eel Advisory Board. She will also be communicating her results to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, which can help her connect with fishermen and stakeholders. “I am very excited about the prospect of interacting with my end user at ASMFC and diverse professionals at Virginia Sea Grant,” Warshafsky says.
She also hopes to recruit the help of undergraduate students from William & Mary in collecting her samples, sharing with them the challenges and rewards of designing a novel research project.
Warshafsky graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014 with a biology major and a natural resources conservation minor. She is now working towards a master’s from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and in the future, she hopes to obtain her PhD. Of the fellowship, she said “[this will] greatly aid me in my journey through marine science and towards my goal of becoming a prominent sustainable fisheries researcher.”
