A Special Message From the Director of Florida Sea Grant
The President’s budget has been released and it proposes elimination of the Sea Grant program.
O’Connor Wins Don Sweat Sea Grant Extension Award
Rick O’Connor, Florida Sea Grant agent for UF/IFAS Extension in Escambia County, has been awarded the 2017 Don Sweat Sea Grant Extension Award.
Red Grouper Causing Lionfish to Eat Lower on the Food Chain, Study Says
New evidence suggests that red grouper, already a species of considerable economic importance to Florida fisheries, can also help lessen the negative effects of invasive lionfish on reef fish communities.
Upcoming Newell Seminar: The Science Behind Understanding the Lionfish Invasion
The free program will take place Thursday, February 19, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 209 of the Biology building at the University of Central Florida. The public is invited to attend.
Lionfish: Is it Safe to Eat?
Lionfish is not a traditional or likely seafood selection, but growing interest in response to its invasive and increasing abundance has stirred recreational and commercial interest. Seafood specialist Steve Otwell offers this perspective. Handling Eating lionfish, Pterois miles or Pterois volitans, is being encouraged as one of the best options to mitigate the harmful…
Three lionfish research projects now underway at Sea Grant
Three research projects are underway at Florida Sea Grant that will test methods to control the invasion of the exotic lionfish in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Complete eradication of lionfish is unlikely, according to Maia McGuire, an invasive species specialist with Florida Sea Grant, but there is hope that developing methods for local removal may…
Living shorelines: An alternate for preventing coastal erosion
On a recent boat trip in the Intracoastal Waterway from Palm Coast to Fort Matanzas, it was interesting to notice the variety of shorelines present in the region. They ranged from fully-vegetated salt marsh to eroding banks to various styles of seawalls. In looking at a series of aerial maps of the region, we can…
Invasive lionfish harming Caribbean reefs
The spectacularly beautiful lionfish with its undulating venomous spines is quite the sight to see, but its invasion of Caribbean coral reefs may pose a very serious threat. For the past five years or so, I have been reading about the population explosion of lionfish in the Caribbean. However, the magnitude of the problem did…