Our Researchers
Bycatch Mitigation, Discard Survival, Fixed Fishing Gear Design and Testing, Fish Behaviour in Proximity to Fishing Gear, Development of Sustainable New and Emerging Fisheries, Arctic Benthic Marine Ecosystems Species Diversity and Fishery Potential, Life-History Traits of Aquatic Species, and Underwater Video Observations of Fish Behaviour, Animal Density, and Habitat Associations.
Dr. Scott Grant’s research interests have included new and emerging fisheries for Atlantic hagfish, sea cucumber, waved whelk, toad crab, northern stone crab, and lake whitefish in the Newfoundland and Labrador region and starry flounder, porcupine crab, whelk, soft-shelled clams, and various species of shrimp in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. These studies include life-history analysis, conservation harvesting measures, and environmental considerations to avoid overharvesting of juveniles and avoid collateral damage to marine bio-physical habitats and non-targeted species.
To contribute to sustainable oceans ecosystem management, exploratory fisheries need to consider a comprehensive research strategy. At the forefront of fisheries development Dr. Grant’s Arctic and sub-Arctic research integrates Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge with physical oceanographic, multibeam echosounder, geo-referenced high-resolution video, and fishing gear surveys to better understand how species distribution, abundance, and biodiversity differ over varying habitats and spatial scales. Capacity building of Indigenous partners in data collection for sustainable management of marine resources is an integral component of these studies.
In established fisheries, Dr. Grant’s research interests have included design and testing of alternate ‘environmentally friendly’ fishing gears, modifications to fishing gear and fishing practices to avoid the incidental capture of non-targeted species, and factors influencing post-release survival of non-targeted species and undersized individuals of targeted species. Dr. Grant is currently supervising students in the MSc and PhD program.
FISH 6001: Ecology, Management, and Practice of North Atlantic Fisheries. Population dynamics module.
Significant Publications:
Wood, J.M., Donovan, M., and Grant, S.M. 2022. Assessing the size at maturity, spawning, and condition of the truncate soft-shell clam (Mya truncata) of southern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. PeerJ, 10:e13231 View Online
Folkins, M.H., Grant, S.M., and Walsh, P.J. 2021. A feasibility study to determine the use of baited pots in Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) fisheries, supported by the use of underwater video observations. PeerJ, 9:e10536 View Online
Bayse, S.M., and Grant, S.M. 2020. Effect of baiting gillnets in the Canadian Greenland halibut fishery. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 27(5): 523-530. View Online
Grant, S.M., Munden, J., Hedges, K.J. 2019. Effects of monofilament nylon versus braided multifilament nylon gangions on catch rates of Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) in bottom set longlines. In Press. PeerJ.
Grant, S.M., Sullivan, R., Hedges, K.J. 2018. Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) feeding behaviour on static fishing gear, effect of SMART hook deterrent technology, and factors influencing entanglement in bottom longlines. PeerJ. 6:e4751; DOI 10.7717/peerj.4751.
Winger, P.D., Munden, J.G., Nguyen, T.X., Grant, S.M., Legge, G. 2018. Comparative fishing to evaluate the viability of an aligned footgear design to reduce seabed contact in northern shrimp bottom trawl fisheries. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 75:201-210.
Khanh, N.Q., Winger, P.D., Morris, C., Grant, S.M. 2017. Artificial light improves the catchability of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) traps. Aquaculture and Fisheries 2: 124-133.
Grant, S.M. 2016. Hagfish fisheries research. In S.L Edwards and G.G. Goss (eds.), Hagfish Biology. CRC Press USA, pp 41-72.
Nguyen, T.X., Walsh, P., Winger, P.D., Favaro, B., Legge, G., Moret, K., Grant, S.M. 2015. Assessing the effectiveness of drop chain footgear at reducing bottom contact in the Newfoundland and Labrador shrimp trawl fishery. Journal of Ocean Technology, 10(2): 61-77.
Grant, S.M., Hiscock, W. 2014. Post-capture survival of Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) captured by bottom otter trawl: can live release programs contribute to the recovery of species at risk? Fish. Res. 151: 169-176.
