Project Page

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, Kevin
305-919-4009
kevin.boswell@fiu.edu
Project Website
Project Partners

None

Affiliated Institutions

Location is center of study area

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