A new interactive map, “Mapping America’s Coral Reefs,” gives casual observers an engaging overview of the nearly 3 million acres of sea floor habitat mapping data produced by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and its partners. This “story” map complements a recent report summarizing NOAA shallow-water coral reef mapping outcomes and results, which [...]
Watch as hunters become the hunted in this story of a delicious but damaging invasive predator and efforts to remove them from our fragile reefs. Lionfish released in U.S. waters are ruining these critical resources by eating fish and shellfish that are valuable to you and me, as well as the reefs they live on. [...]
As part of a pilot initiative known as “beach hazard statements,” NOAA’s National Weather Service in Tampa Bay began to issue red tide warnings to beachgoers in an area where a bloom of algae is responsible for causing fish kills and breathing problems in people. While the announcement is new, the forecasts themselves are well [...]
A new NOAA research report finds that both fish populations and commercial and recreational anglers have benefited from “no-take” protections in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The report, “An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-take Reserves,” is the first to [...]
While fishing in about 10 feet of water on the hard-bottom reef patches just 200 yards from shore near the Ritz Carlton, Mike Damanski confirmed the inevitable when something unexpected showed up on the end of his line. Damanski, who was out fishing with his mom and some friends for his birthday last week, landed [...]
Since 2000, the National Ocean Service and its partners have mapped more than 3 million acres (12,100 km2) of shallow-water (0-30 meters) coral reef habitats spanning the Pacific, Atlantic and Caribbean. The results of this body of work are summarized in a new report released by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), National Summary [...]
NOAA researchers recently published An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-take Reserves, an analysis of both biological and socioeconomic changes resulting from the remote Florida marine reserve during its first five years. The report indicates that there seemed to be an early increase in certain fish species within [...]
Dania Beach, Florida, a small coastal city about 10 miles south of Fort Lauderdale, is best known as a jai-alai haven and home of the International Game Fishing Association Hall of Fame. It’s also where, for more than a decade, researchers at Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Oceanographic Center have quietly studied coral ecosystems in association [...]