Location:
Via webinar only.
Depredation is the partial or complete damage to target fisheries by ambient natural predators before being landed. Despite being reported as a growing problem in multiple fisheries across the southeastern US, there has been little effort to date to understand or mitigate shark depredations. This talk will provide an overview of the research conducted by […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
The frequency and severity of marine heatwaves are increasing, resulting in widespread degradation of the function, structure, resilience, and adaptive capacity of ecosystems. Coral reefs are one of the most heat-vulnerable marine ecosystems; heat-driven mass bleaching events have caused mortality and reef degradation for > 40 years, with impacts continually increasing in scale and severity. […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
SCDNR scientists received their first MARMAP grant from the federal government in 1972 to conduct offshore research and monitoring of fish and invertebrate communities in support of management. These efforts began with sampling the youngest and smallest of these communities using plankton nets. Net-based monitoring efforts evolved into trawling, moved inshore in 1986-1990, and became […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
Insights from fishery stakeholders can provide valuable and easily obtainable information on the distribution of marine resources and the use of gears intended to conserve fish stocks. Recent work is presented in which snapper-grouper fishermen were interviewed about their insights on the location of quality reef habitat and high abundances of red snapper in the […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
Many snapper and grouper species travel to specific reefs and ledges along the South Atlantic coast to reproduce. Gathering reproductive-aged fish in a relatively small area makes spawning more efficient, but it also makes the fish more vulnerable. Fishing in these areas can disrupt spawning behavior and have an outsized effect on the future population. […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
Many reef fish like hogfish, snapper, and grouper are vital to ecosystems and economies, but managers often lack key biological data. The SMILE(Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimate) Project uses trained, citizen scientist divers with laser-mounted “FishSense” cameras and AI to generate accurate, non-extractive size data to fill this gap. This seminar will share early results, […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
The 2010 closure of the Red Snapper fishery in the South Atlantic greatly reduced the utility of fishery dependent data in tracking population trends and monitoring population recovery. In response, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission initiated a research and monitoring program to augment SouthEast Reef Fish […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
Florida’s estuarine systems are vital and dynamic habitats that serve as nursery areas for many federally managed species. This seminar will highlight the challenges facing two important waterways, the Everglades and the Indian River Lagoon, and explore ongoing efforts to restore their ecological health. Restoration of the Everglades is guided by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
Dolphinfish are an important species along the Atlantic Coast. In this seminar, the presenters will describe trends in the sizes of dolphinfish caught in the US South Atlantic region. In one analysis, five southeastern United States sportfishing tournaments over several recent decades were investigated to understand temporal changes in lengths of male and female dolphinfish, […]
Location:
Via webinar only.
During this seminar, SC Department of Natural Resources staff will provide an overview of where the South Atlantic Black Sea Bass stock is, how its been changing, and some of the recent work done to understand these changes. Specifically, we’ll discuss three completed or ongoing projects that address the interaction between distribution and stock size, […]