Ivy Elizabeth Baremore

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Science Coordinator at MarAlliance

Cardinal snapper Pristipomoides macrophthalmus is a commercially important, but commonly misidentified, deepwater species in artisanal and semi-industrial fisheries throughout the Caribbean Sea. As with many tropical deepwater fishes, little is known about the biology or ecology of the species. Bomb radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating was applied to cardinal...

An increasing onus on elasmobranch management by regional bodies has been hindered by a lack of data on abundance, distribution and fisheries, especially in data‐poor areas like the eastern Atlantic Ocean. From 2015 through 2017, 204 baited remote underwater videos (BRUV) were deployed in Cabo Verde around the eastern islands of Sal, Boavista and M...

For the live-bearing and egg-laying class of chondrichthyan fishes a three parameter logistic ‘maternity’ function with a variable upper asymptote, PMax, can be used to predict the average probability of a female giving birth or laying eggs in a season. Although fundamental to calculating the reproductive capacity of a population, few studies repor...

Deepwater fisheries in the Caribbean Sea are poorly studied and mostly unmanaged, despite their importance to local economies and food security. In the MesoAmerican region, deepwater fisheries are nearshore and easily accessible in many locations by small vessels, but historical and contemporary fishing effort varies by country. We used standardize...

The sixgill sharks of the genus Hexanchus (Hexanchiformes, Hexanchidae) are large, rarely encountered deep-sea sharks, thought to comprise just two species: the bluntnose sixgill Hexanchus griseus (Bonaterre, 1788) and the bigeye sixgill Hexanchus nakamurai (Teng, 1962). Their distribution is putatively worldwide in tropical and temperate waters, b...

Deepwater fisheries in the Caribbean waters of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras are currently unmanaged, and there is very little monitoring of fishery landings. Increasing demand for high quality fish has led to the continued expansion of coastal fisheries into deeper waters in the region over several decades. The deepwater fisheries of the...

The study presents the first national assessment of a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) population, conducted using a combination of transect surveys and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). Density of nurse sharks in Belize was found to be higher in reefs than in lagoons, and in the atolls furthest away from the mainland and human settlemen...

We investigated spatial use patterns of 77 Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize over 7 years using residency patterns, kernel density (KD) estimation and network analysis. We found a high degree individual variation in spatial use of the atoll, but there were significant differences in residency and activity...

Squatina dumeril. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019

1. Camouflage grouper, Epinephelus polyphekadion (Bleeker, 1849), and squaretail coralgrouper, Plectropomus areolatus (Rüppell, 1830), are commercially important medium-bodied groupers that aggregate at specific sites and times to spawn and are highly vulnerable to fishing during these events. Populations of both species are in decline globally, su...

Landings surveys in Livingston and Quetzalito, Guatemala showed that sharks are heavily targeted, and rare deep-sea species were documented in the landings at Quetzalito (Fig. 3). Fishers in Guatemala rely on bottom longline and gillnet to capture fish in the deep sea, and fishing effort is concentrated along the deep edges of Belize and Honduras....

Fish spawning aggregations (FSA) act as biological hotspots that concentrate food and nutrients across a broad trophic spectrum. In Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia), 20 female grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) were acoustically tagged at two multi-species grouper (Epinephelidae) FSA to examine the likelihood that these mesopreda...

Night sharks Carcharhinus signatus have suffered large declines in the western Atlantic Ocean, and while fishing mortality has slowed and populations stabilized in the northwestern Atlantic, they are still captured in high numbers as a targeted and bycatch species in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Considered one of the top five most vulnerable stocks...

Coastal fisheries along Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) countries are generally overfished and under-managed. As coastal fish stocks decline, select fishers are expanding into deep sea-fisheries. The topography of the MAR enables deep-sea fishing (> 200 m) very close to shore, easily attainable in small vessels. Fishing effort in the deep-waters varies sub...

To determine the most suitable aging structure for sturgeons, band counts of transverse sections of otoliths and the pectoral-, dorsal-, pelvic-, and anal-fin rays of Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinehus desotoi) were compared. The otoliths and dorsal-, pelvic- and anal-fin rays produced inconsistent band patterns, but bands formed in the first (fin...

Age and growth analysis of the sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, from the northern Gulf of Mexico and western North Atlantic Ocean was completed with vertebral samples (n = 1,194). Three parameter von Bertalanffy growth curves were run for male and female sandbar sharks separately, and growth parameters were estimated: theoretical maximum lengt...

Long-term standardized elasmobranch monitoring can provide a robust gauge of a population’s status and reveal where management interventions may be necessary for the target species’ persistence. A standardized annual longline survey for elasmobranchs has been conducted at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, the most remote of Belize’s barrier reef atolls, durin...

The reproductive parameters of 1,194 sandbar sharks Carcharhinus plumbeus (701 females, 493 males) were examined for stock assessment. Size and age at 50% maturity was 151.6 cm FL (12.1 years) for males and 154.9 cm (13.1 years) for females; however, the size and age at which 50% of females were in maternal condition was 162.0 cm FL (15.5 years).Ma...

Reproductive and age data were collected for Blacktip Sharks Carcharhinus limbatus in the Gulf of Mexico from fishery-dependent and -independent sources from 2006 to 2011 for stock assessment. A total of 757 Blacktip Sharks were sampled for reproductive analysis (399 females, 358 males), of which 741 were aged. Additional length and age data from a...

Gillnet mesh selectivity parameters were estimated for juvenile blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) by using length data from an experimental fishery-independent gillnet survey in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Length data for 1720 blacktip sharks were collected over 17 years (1994-2010) with seven mesh sizes ranging from 7.6 to 20.3 cm. Four...

During stock assessments, scientists strive to use the best available science to inform decisions, while the stakeholders participate in each level of the process to be sure to make their interests known and to better understand the final outcome. Such an integrative process requires a certain level of participation and transparency by all parties....

Following recommendations from the 2009 Gulf Sturgeon 5-Year Status Review to facilitate and improve the reliability and consistency of abundance and natural mortality data estimates, a standardized data collection process was implemented. Standardized datasheets were developed for use by Gulf sturgeon researchers, along with a corresponding databa...

Atlantic angel sharks Squatina dumeril were collected by fishery-dependent and independent trawls from 2002 to 2008 for reproductive analysis. Female S. dumeril have only one functional ovary (left), with an average litter size of seven pups. The reproductive cycle is at least biennial, though the seasonality of vitellogenesis could not be determin...

Atlantic angel sharks Squatina dumeril were collected for stomach contents (n = 437) from November 2002 through April 2005 from a butterfish Peprilus burti bottom trawl fishery in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Teleost fishes, especially Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, butterfish, and goatfishes (Mullidae), dominated the diet of Atlanti...

Several methods were used in an attempt to develop an age and growth model for the Atlantic angel shark (Squatina dumeril). Band counts from vertebral sections, which were fit to the traditional von Bertalanffy growth equation, the Gompertz growth equation, and the two-parameter von Bertalanffy growth equation, did not produce realistic parameter e...

Atlantic angel sharks Squatina dumeril (Lesueur, 1818) were collected for stomach content analysis from a trawl fishery in northeastern Florida in the winter (n = 50) and spring (n = 59) of 2005. The trawl catch was also sampled to describe the potential prey items in the environment in relation to stomach contents of angel sharks. Angel sharks con...

We examined life history traits (e.g., mean length-at-age, growth rate, age-at-maturity) for blacktip sharks collected from two separate geographical areas (eastern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight) to address the potential for separate stocks in southeastern US waters. Samples were obtained from fishery-dependent and independent sources. Gr...

The age and growth dynamics of the spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) in the northwest Atlantic Ocean off the southeast United States and in the Gulf of Mexico were examined and four growth models were used to examine variation in the ability to fit size-at-age data. The von Bertalanffy growth model, an alternative equation of the von Bertalan...

Biological parameters of the Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae in the northern Gulf of Mexico were re-examined to test for potential changes due to density dependent responses. Biological data from published studies in the Gulf of Mexico collected during the period 1979–1984 were compared with data collected during the period 1998...

In 1993, an assessment of small coastal sharks, largely composed of Atlantic sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), determined this group to be fully utilized. Subsequent reductions in commercial quotas for large coastal species have caused increased harvesting of Atlantic sharpnose shark. This increased fishing pressure allowed for the inv...

A total of 1194 (701 females, 493 males) sandbar sharks Carcharhinus plumbeus were examined for reproductive assessment. Size and age at 50% maturity for males was 151.6 cm FL (13.1 years) and 154.9 cm FL (14.1 years) for females, while the size at which 50% of females were in reproductive condition was 162.6 cm FL (16.8 years). Males and females s...