Informing fishery-independent reef fish surveys through advanced survey techniques
Implementing Organization
Florida International University
Overview
DWH Project Funding
$290,742
Known Leveraged Funding
$0
Funding Organization
The U.S. Department of Treasury
Funding Program
The RESTORE Act Funds Bucket 5: Centers of Excellence Research Grant Program
Details
Project Category
Science
Project Actions
Environmental Research
Targeted Resources
Fish/Fish Habitats
Project Description
Marine fisheries are the second most valuable economic engine in Florida behind tourism. Shelf reefs are critical fish habitat threatened by numerous stressors including the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Baseline information at scales required for impact assessment is lacking. Advances in stock assessment models have led to an increased demand for reliable, inexpensive, non-extractive and non-destructive data collection techniques. This study will apply advanced technologies to improve the quality and scope of fishery-independent data used to parameterize reef fish stock assessment models. Cross-shelf robotic and acoustic surveys will address questions regarding differences in reef fish distribution and biomass, and habitat utilization around both artificial and natural reefs.
Contact
Boswell, Kevin305-919-4009
kevin.boswell@fiu.edu
Project Website
None
Location is center of study area