Saving Seafood

FLORIDA: Florida invests USD 1 million in fisheries recovery following hurricanes

October 30, 2024 — The U.S. state of Florida has awarded USD 1 million (EUR 924,274) to help the state’s struggling commercial fisheries and aquaculture sector recover from damage inflicted by a trio of hurricane landfalls.

“The [state’s] fishing industry took a direct hit from hurricanes Debby and Helene, and so did the hardworking Floridians who make their living on the water,” Governor Ron DeSantis said in a statement. “Today’s investments will help to rebuild critical waterside infrastructure and help get Floridians in the fishing and aquaculture industries back to full operations.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Marine Debris From Hurricanes Helene And Milton Could Take Years To Remove

October 24, 2024 — The recovery and cleanup process following hurricanes Helene and Milton will take months or even years to fully complete.

But the cleanup extends well beyond people’s homes and businesses. Marine debris has also found its way onshore, as well as into Florida’s canals and rivers, adding another layer to the cleanup.

“After hurricanes, they create a large pulse of debris in a short amount of time,” explains Ashley Hill, the Florida Regional Coordinator for NOAA’s marine debris program.

Hurricanes are so powerful that they are able to move large amounts of water. The water displacement, combined with the wind and storm surge, pushes trash, plastic and debris that has been floating around the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida coast and inland. All the trash now has to be picked up and removed.

What is marine debris?

Marine debris is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material that intentionally or unintentionally ends up in our oceans or Great Lakes, according to NOAA.

“Anything human-made and solid can become marine debris once lost or littered in these aquatic environments,” says NOAA. “Our trash has been found in every corner of our ocean.”

Just one year after Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, more than 250,000 cubic yards of marine debris had been reported removed at an estimated cost of $43 million, according to NOAA.

Hurricanes carry marine debris well inland

Hill explains that the marine debris removal following hurricanes Helene and Milton will take a very long time and is also very expensive.

“We’re finding things months, sometimes years after a particular hurricane,” said Hill. “A great example of that is we’re getting close to funding projects that will be removing some debris that we still have remaining from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall about two years ago.”

Read the full article at The Weather Channel

Biden, DeSantis sound alarm as Milton barrels toward Florida

October 9, 2024 — Floridians evacuating what could be the most powerful hurricane to strike the Tampa Bay region in a century crawled Tuesday along Florida’s major highways, seeking higher ground before Milton’s expected Wednesday night landfall.

Scientists at the National Hurricane Center said the slightly weakened hurricane — which skirted the northern Yucatan Peninsula on Monday night into Tuesday morning — continued to track eastward across a warm Gulf of Mexico, drawing up energy as it approaches Florida’s central Gulf Coast.

In brief remarks before reporters at the White House, President Joe Biden sounded the alarm about Milton’s threat, noting that the storm was projected to both strike Florida’s west coast as a hurricane and possibly exit the east coast and into the Atlantic Ocean at hurricane strength.

Read the full article at E&E News

FLORDIA: Divers set new record catching invasive fish: ‘A great way to get people outdoors and involved in conservation’

October 9, 2024 —  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s annual lionfish hunting competition just wrapped up, and it broke records for both attendance and results, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The hundreds of divers who entered the competition had three-and-a-half months to catch as many of the invasive species as they could. When all was said and done, over 31,000 lionfish had been removed from Florida waters.

Lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific Sea and the Red Sea, first appeared off the coast of South Florida in 1985, per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Outside of their native habitat, the predatory species has been able to outcompete native species like snapper and grouper while also eating fish that serve important functions in maintaining coral reefs. Their presence has disrupted the entire ecosystem, which has led Florida (and other places) to get creative in enlisting the public’s help to control their populations.

Read the full article at TCD

A Storied Luxury Liner May Soon Find New Life on the Florida Seafloor

October 4, 2024 — More than seven decades ago, the S.S. United States — a ship bigger than the Titanic — made its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, breaking the trans-Atlantic speed record.

The ocean liner, which once transported heads of state and members of the Hollywood elite from New York City to destinations across Europe, may soon make history again — this time underwater, as the world’s largest artificial reef off the coast of Florida.

The stately ship, once graced by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and John F. Kennedy, could soon be home to sea turtles, starfish and grouper.

Read the full article at The New York Times

Death toll rises from Helene while supplies are rushed to North Carolina and Florida digs out

September 30, 2024 — Authorities struggled to get water and other supplies to isolated, flood-stricken areas across the U.S. Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm rose to nearly 100.

A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed due to the storm, and several other fatalities reported in North Carolina Sunday pushed the overall death toll to at least 91 people across several states.

Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into Ashville — which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions — by Monday.

“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Scientists raise concerns about ancient fish species following onslaught of extreme weather: ‘They’re not invincible’

September 30, 2024 — With their spiky armor and snouts full of whiskers, Gulf sturgeon have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. But human-driven threats are pushing this Florida-native species to the brink, WUSF reports.

What’s happening?

These fish, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, face a slew of threats. Pollution has expanded in the Suwannee River, one of the waterways where they live. Plus, hurricanes and flooding can worsen chemical runoff and create oxygen “dead zones” that make it impossible for the sturgeon to breathe. For instance, scientists reported “tremendous” mortality in several Florida rivers with Hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Ivan in 2004, and they’re still waiting to assess the impacts of August 2024’s Hurricane Debby, which rose water levels by 20 feet along the Suwannee. This rise threatened to spill more fertilizers, salts, and other nutrients into this fish’s habitat. Meanwhile, a warming world is causing fluctuations in water levels, which can make it difficult or impossible for sturgeon to reach their spawning grounds.

According to WUSF, scientists say that “Florida’s prehistoric fish are surviving as they have for eons … But they’re not invincible.”

Read the full article at The Cool Down

FLORIDA: Are mahi fleeing Florida to beat the heat?

September 18, 2024 — Under a sky glowing orange from the dawn sun, Martin Grosell gunned his twin-engine sportfishing boat toward the Gulf Stream one morning in August, in search of one of his and South Florida’s favorite fish: mahi.

On board, sprawled on a beanbag, was one of his best anglers, his youngest daughter Camilla, 12.

“She’s born and raised doing this and she’s caught a lot more fish than most in South Florida,” Grosell said, then admits: ”Most of the time, it’s actually her telling me what to do.”

Grosell is an ichthyologist — a marine biologist who studies fish — at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School where he specializes in mahi. As one of the principal investigators for a research project studying lasting impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, his lab looked at how the massive spill harmed two of the state’s most popular trophy fish – bluefin tuna and mahi.

Read the full article at WLRN

FLORIDA: Innovative technologies could help revive Florida’s storied oyster fishery

September 10, 2024 — A group of experts from the University of Florida have authored a report proposing the use of innovative technology that could help revive Florida’s once-prolific Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery.

Apalachicola Bay, located in northwest Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, was long the source of most of the oysters sold in the southeast U.S. state and comprised about 10 percent of those sold across the entire country. The bay’s oysters were famous for their quality and taste and an economic driver in the region, producing USD 6.6 million (EUR 6 million) worth of sales in 2011.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

FLORIDA: Destin charter captains on longer red snapper season: ‘Worst I have seen in a long time’

September 4, 2024 — For some, it was business as usual. But most all agree the red snapper season was a bit long.

This year, vessels with a federal for-hire reef permit, which is most of the Destin charter fleet, had 88 days in federal waters to catch red snapper. Their season started on June 1 and ended Aug. 28 in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 88-day season (about 3 months) was the longest in more than a decade.

“We stayed steadily busy for both boats for the whole summer,” said Capt. Tyler Brielmayer of the charter boat First Light and owner of Nothin Matters.

Read the full article at The Destin Log