My background is a combination of marine fisheries science and public policy, and my research interests are accordingly focused on direct, applied fisheries research projects. Although much of the work in my lab has focused on applied commercial fisheries research questions, I remain in working collaborations with several recreational fisheries as well.More recently, my lab has started research in more traditional fisheries science with work on age-growth, diet, and reproduction of selected mesopelagic and pelagic fishes.

In addition to my lab's fieldwork and laboratory research projects, I feel that it is also essential for my field to engage the public regarding marine fisheries management and fisheries science. As part of this outreach, I strive to serve as a resource for public questions about their catches, and I have contributed to popular magazines such as "Sport Fishing" and "Florida Sportsman". I have also served in a more formal advisory service role by serving on management committees and scientific panels, including the U.S. Advisory Committee to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team for pilot whales and Risso's dolphins.

• Bryan Armstrong: Predicting the movements of shallow-set pelagic longline fishing gear and description of post-capture behavior by pelagic fishes
• Shannon Bayse: Description of the southeast Florida swordfish buoy gear fishery and evaluation of alternative terminal gear technology in the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery
• Heidi DaSilva: Evaluation of the ecological linkages of mesopelagic teleost fishes using combined gut-content and stable isotope analyses
• Amy Heemsoth: Diet composition of swordfish in the Florida Straits
• Twyla Herrington: Movements and behavior of white marlin and blackfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico using pop-up satellite archival tags
• Mae Taylor: Description of endoparasite fauna in selected pelagic sharks and mesopelagic fishes
• Mike Tousignant: Reproduction of silky sharks and pelagic stingrays in the northwest Atlantic

Selected Publications (Complete publication list)

Kerstetter, D.W. and M.L. Taylor. 2008. Live release of a bigeye sand tiger (Odontapsis noronhai) in the western North Atlantic. Bulletin of Marine Science 83: 465-469.
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Kerstetter, D.W., and J.E. Graves. 2008. Postrelease Survival of Sailfish Caught by Commercial Pelagic Longline Gear in the Southern Gulf of Mexico. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:1578-1586.
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Kerstetter, D.W., P.H. Rice, D. Snodgrass, and E.D. Prince. 2008. Behavior of an escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum in the Windward Passage as determined by pop-up satellite archival tagging. Gulf and Caribbean Research 20: 97-102.
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Kerstetter, D.W. 2008. Measuring the length of a pelagic longline set: applications for management. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28: 378-385.
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Levesque, J.* and D.W. Kerstetter. 2007. First observations on the re-established southeast Florida recreational swordfish tournament fishery. Florida Scientist 70(3): 284-296.

Horodysky, A.Z., R. Latour, D.W. Kerstetter, and J.E. Graves. 2007. Habitat utilization and vertical movements of white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) released from commercial and recreational fishing gears in the western North Atlantic Ocean: inferences from short duration pop-up archival satellite tags. Fisheries Oceanography 16(3): 240-256.
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Watson, J. and D.W. Kerstetter. 2006. Pelagic longline fishing gear: a brief history and discussion of research efforts to improve selectivity and sustainability. Marine Technology Society Journal 40(3): 5-10.

Kerstetter, D.W., and J.E. Graves. 2006. Effects of circle versus J-style hooks on target and non-target species in a pelagic longline fishery. Fisheries Research 80(3):239-250.
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Kerstetter, D.W., and J.E. Graves. 2006. Survival of white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) released from commercial pelagic longline gear in the western North Atlantic. Fishery Bulletin 104(3): 434-444.
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Kerstetter, D.W., J. Polovina, and J.E. Graves. 2004. Evidence of shark predation and scavenging on fishes equipped with pop-up satellite archival tags. Fishery Bulletin 102(4): 750-756.
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Kerstetter, D.W., B.E. Luckhurst, E.D. Prince, and J.E. Graves. 2003. Use of pop-up satellite archival tags to demonstrate survival of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) released from pelagic longline gear. Fishery Bulletin 101(4): 939-948.
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