===FORM START===
0. Intended/preferred project project code, if known? (May be altered by OTNDC)
format: XXXX (3-6 uppercase letters that do not already have a representation in the OTN DB. Will be assigned if left blank)
V2LNASTI


1. Title-style description of the project?
format: < 70 words in 'paper title' form
Mackerel tracking in the Northwest Arm

2. Brief abstract of the project? 
format: < 500 words in 'abstract' form
The recent decisions to close Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Canada to promote stock rebuilding have drawn attention to knowledge gaps in the species' biology. Electronic tagging of mackerel can have an important role in documenting stock structure and movements and estimating key demographic parameters to enhance understanding of stock status toward more effective fisheries management. Electronic tagging has been used in the provision of fisheries management advice in many jurisdictions. It could provide similar benefits for mackerel if effective methods for handling and tagging the species can be developed. Mackerel are very sensitive to handling and efforts to track them with electronic tagging have been limited. In this project, we will develop tagging protocols using a field pilot in the Northwest Arm to evaluate survival of mackerel and track behaviour within the V2LNASTI array.

3. Names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID (if available) of researchers involved in the project and their role. 

The accepted Project Roles are defined as:
Principal Investigator: PI or Co-PI. The person(s) responsible for the overall planning, direction and management of the project.
Technician: Person(s) responsible for preparation, operation and/or maintenance of shipboard, laboratory or deployed scientific instrumentation, but has no invested interest in the data returned by that instrumentation.
Researcher: Person(s) who may use/analyse the data to answer research questions, but is not the project lead. Can be a student if their involvement spans past the completion of an academic degree. 
Student: Person(s) researching as part of a project as part of their work towards an academic degree. 
Collaborator: A provider of input/support to a project without formal involvement in the project.

Please add 'Point of Contact' to the contact(s) who will be responsible for communicating with OTN. 

format: Firstname Lastname, Employer OR Affiliation, Project Role (choose from above list), email.address@url.com, point of contact (if relevant), ORCID

Robert Lennox, Dalhousie University, Principal Investigator, lennox@dal.ca, point of contact
Morgan Piczak, Dalhousie University, researcher, morganpiczak@gmail.com
Elisabeth van Beveren, DFO-MLI, collaborator, elisabeth.vanbeveren@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

4. Project URL - can be left blank
format: http[s]://yoursite.com 

5. Species being studied?  
format: Common name (scientific name)
Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

6. Location of the project? 
format: (city, state/province OR nearby landmark OR lat/long points in decimal degree), one per line
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Northwest Arm)

7. Start and end dates of the project, if known? 
format: YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD ('ongoing' is an acceptable end date)
2024-04-01 to ongoing

8. Citation to use when referencing this project:
format: Lastname, I., Lastname, I. YYYY. [Title from question 1 or suitable alternative] Will be assigned if left blank.
Lennox RJ, Piczak M, van Beveren E. 2024. The Northwest Arm Strategic Tracking Infrastructure.

===FORM END===