Tag Archives: Mote Marine Laboratory

81 False killer whales die off South Florida coast

81 false killer whales have died after stranding themselves off the South Florida coast. NOAA announced the grim news on Monday afternoon. NOAA initially reported that 95 false killer whales were stranded in South Florida. Then on Monday afternoon, NOAA Fish Southeast tweeted that 81 whales had died and also said the whales were at a remote location off of Hog Key in the Everglades. One whale was seen alive on Monday and 13 others are unaccounted for, NOAA Fish Southeast said on Twitter on Monday afternoon. The National Park Service has closed the area around the whale stranding location. The National Park Service is asking that aircraft not fly over the area and that boats stay away from the area. Read the rest here 15:14

Do sharks survive after the hook?

160623150856_1_540x360Fitbit-like sensors are the best tools for monitoring whether sharks survive catch-and-release fishing — essential data for fisheries management — according to a peer-reviewed study published June 23 by scientists from Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. The study, published online in the scientific journal Fisheries Research, is the first to show that motion-sensing accelerometer tags detect whether a shark has survived and how it recovers from capture stress with much greater certainty than other prevailing technologies. Usually scientists fit sharks with satellite or acoustic transmitters to infer whether a shark has survived using indirect signals like location or depth. In contrast, accelerometers measure sharks’ fine-scale movements directly and with high resolution, including every tail beat, body tilt, ascent and descent. Read the rest here 16:41

This is good! Mullet plan could create hundreds of jobs, preserve fishing industry

mullet plan tampaMullet could one day be Florida’s desired fish, help create hundreds of jobs and preserve the fishing industry. Local organizations have teamed together to study the uses of the under utilized and widely available fish and say one day it will be a big money maker. Mullet is abundant in the Bay Area. However, right now the only part of the fish that’s profitable to commercial fishermen is the roe from the females. Some local organizations are working to change that. Read the article here 10:48

Mote Receives National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant Money to Bring Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries to Gulf (Way too intrusive)

Mote Marine Laboratory announced it has received a $150,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to establish the first center for electronic monitoring of commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. Mote officials say it’s a first step toward gathering more scientifically sound data to inform fisheries management in the entire Gulf. continued