Jim Gartland

Education

• B.S., University of Miami, 1999
• M.S., William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 2002

• Ph.D., William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 2024 

Research Focus

Quantitative fisheries ecology in support of Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management (EAFM). Specifically, my research focuses on the influence of biophysical forcing and harvest on community structure and function, development of ecosystem indicators to inform holistic management approaches, and novel uses of data on trophic interactions to support stock assessment. Effective development and implementation of a myriad new fisheries-independent monitoring survey programs has served as the foundation of much of this research.   

Current Projects

Multispecies Research Group

• Data collection and analysis in support of single and multispecies stock assessments in the mid-Atlantic & Southern New England: Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program Near Shore Trawl Survey, NEAMAP.  Funded by Mid Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, Research Set-Aside Program & Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, Southern New England Collaborative Research Initiative.
• Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program.  Funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission. 
• VIMS Shark Research Program.  Funded by NOAA/NMFS.
• Striped Bass Assessment Program. Funded by Wallop-Breaux funds from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
• Development and testing of a length-based assessment model of U.S. east coast longfin squid. Funded provided by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center & Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
• Developing a regional industry-based bottom trawl survey (RIBTS) for the Northeast US shelf ecosystem

Publications

• Sweka, J.A., K.A. Anstead, D.R. Smith, L. Barry, J. Zimmerman, S. Doctor, C. Weedon, J. Gartland, Y. Jiao, F. Ferretti, and E.M. Hallerman. In Press. Recovery of Delaware Bay horseshoe crabs following harvest reductions. Marine and Coastal Fisheries.
• Jones, A.W., A.J.M. Mercer, K. Ford, J. Gartland, R.Ruhle, D. Gregg, and M.V. Pol. 2025. Collaboratively assessing the impact of a restrictor rope on the catch derived from a bottom trawl survey. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
• DeVries, C., J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2025. Patterns in spiny dogfish consumption by sex and maturity stage relate to prey availability and environmental forcing in the Northwest Atlantic. Frontiers in Marine Science 12:1621343.
• Gartland, J., and R.J. Latour. Disentangling bottom-up and top-down controls on fish consumption of key prey in the Northeast US Shelf ecosystem. ICES Journal of Marine Science 81:1669-1684.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and G.M. Ralph. 2024. Commentary: Demographic response of osprey within the lower Chesapeake Bay to fluctuations in menhaden stock. Frontiers in Marine Science 11:1416687.
• Ralph, G.M, J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2024. Evaluation of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab sanctuary through habitat suitability. Marine Ecology Progress Series 739: 111-128.
• Schonfeld, A.S., G.M. Ralph, J. Gartland, P. St-Laurent, M.A. Friedrichs, and R.J. Latour. 2024. Hypoxia influences the extent and dynamics of suitable fish habitat in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 748:117-135.
• Gaichas, S.K., J. Gartland, B. Smith, A. Wood, E. Ng, M. Celestino, K. Drew, A. Tyrell, and J. Thorson. 2023. Assessing small pelagic fish trends in space and time using piscivore stomach contents. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0093.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and A.M. Schueller. 2023. Reproductive biology and fecundity of Atlantic menhaden. Marine and Coastal Fisheries. e10269.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.F Bonzek. 2023. Design and redesign of a bottom trawl survey in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Frontiers in Marine Science 10.
• Gartland, J., S.K. Gaichas, and R.J. Latour. 2023. Spatiotemporal patterns in the ecological community of the nearshore Mid-Atlantic Bight. Marine Ecology Progress Series 704:15-33.
• Schonfeld, A.S., J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2022. Spatial differences in estuarine utilization by seasonally resident species in Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA. Fisheries Oceanography 31:615-628.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.D. Peterson. 2022. Ontogenetic niche structureand partitioning of immature sandbar sharks within the Chesapeake Bay nursery. Marine Biology 169:76.
• Bell, R.J., M.C. McManus, J. McNamee, J. Gartland, B. Galuardi, and C. McGuire. 2021. Perspectives from the water: Utilizing fisher’s observations to inform SNE/MA windowpane science and management. Fisheries Research 243, 106090.
• Latour, R.J., and J. Gartland. 2020. Dynamics of the shark community in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Marine Biology 167:1-14.
• Gervasi, C.L., S.K. Lowerre-Barbieri, W.K. Vogelbein, J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2019. The reproductive biology of Chesapeake Bay striped bass with consideration of the effects of mycobacteriosis. Bulletin of Marine Science 95:117-137.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.F. Bonzek. 2017. Spatiotemporal trends and drivers of fish condition in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series 579:1-17.
• Peterson, C.D., J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2017. Novel use of hook timers to  quantify changing catchability over soak time in longline surveys. Fisheries Research194:99-111.
• Malek, A.J., J. Gartland, and J.S. Collie. 2014. Fine-scale patterns in the demersal fishand invertebrate community in a northwest Atlantic ecosystem. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science 147:1-10.
• Buchheister, A, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2013. Patterns and drivers of the demersal fish community of Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecological Progress Series 481:161-180.
• Latour, R.J., D.T. Gauthier, J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, K.A. McNamee, and W.K. Vogelbein. 2012. Impacts of mycobacteriosis on the growth dynamics of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69:247-258.
• Schloesser, R.W., M.C. Fabrizio, R.J. Latour, G.C. Garman, G. Greenlee, M. Groves, and J. Gartland. ‘Ecological role of blue catfish in Chesapeake Bay communities and implications for management.’In Conservation, Ecology, and Management of Catfish: The Second International Symposium. Ed. P. Michaletz. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society. 2011.
• Uphoff, J. J. Jacobs, J. Gartland, and R. Latour. ‘Forage and predation.’ In Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management for Chesapeake Bay: Striped Bass Species Team Background and Issue Briefs. Ed. J. Uphoff. College Park, MD: Maryland Sea Grant. 2009.
• Gauthier, D.T., R.J. Latour, D.M. Heisey, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, E.J. Burge, and W.K. Vogelbein. 2008. Mycobacteriosis associated mortality in wild striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Ecological Applications 18:1718-1727.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, and R.A. Johnson. 2008. The trophic dynamics of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in Chesapeake Bay. Fishery Bulletin 106:47-57.
• Gartland, J., R.J. Latour, A.D. Halvorson, and H.M. Austin. 2006. Diet composition of young-­of-­the-­year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) in the lower Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean of Virginia. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135:371-­378.

Advisory Service

• Member: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Scientific & Statistical Committee: Jan 2024 – present. 
• Member: Longfin Inshore Squid Research Track Working Group: Dec 2023 – present.
• Steering Committee Member, NOAA Survey Simulation Experimentation and Evaluation Project, 2020 – present.    
• Member, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel, 2015 – present.   
• Member, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Bluefish Technical Committee, 2014 – present.   
• Member, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Bluefish Monitoring Committee, 2014 – present.   
• Invited Expert, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Research Set-Aside Program, 2021 – 2022.   
• Invited Expert, NOAA Fisheries, Atlantic Coast Data Collection Workshop, Aug 2021.    
• Invited Expert, Chesapeake Bay Program, Impact of COVID-19 on Chesapeake Bay Fisheries, Jun 2021.   
• Panelist, University of Massachusetts SMAST, Vineyard Wind Monitoring Surveys Programmatic Review, Mar 2021.   
• Member, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Management and Science Committee, 2013-2019. Chair 2017-2019.   
• Member, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NEAMAP Operations Committee, 2011-2019. Chair 2017-2019.   
• Panelist, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Groundfish Gear Efficiency Research Review Panel, Jul 2017.   
• Invited Expert, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Groundfish Science Forum, Nov 2012.    
• Member, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NEAMAP Trawl Technical Committee, 2005-2011.   
• Member, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Fishing Gear Technology Working Group, 2007-2009.

Awards

• Feature Article: Spatiotemporal trends and drivers of fish condition in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series, Volume 579
• ASMFC Annual Award of Excellence - 2013

• Outstanding Classified Employee Award, Research/Advisory Service – Virginia Institute of Marine Science - 2009