NOAA-funded research in the Caribbean is using the underwater sounds of reef fish, such as groupers, to identify areas where they gather to spawn — a behavior that makes the fish easier to catch and susceptible to overfishing. The research may lead to more precise measures to protect spawning locations and thereby allow a depleted [...]
A new study of Asia’s Coral Triangle, which contains nearly 30 percent of the world’s reefs, shows that when it comes to ensuring a rich and diverse range of species, size matters. “The study suggests that marine protected areas should be as large and diverse as possible,” Peter Etnoyer, a marine biologist at the US [...]
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. [...]
Invasive species are nothing new. Neither is eating them, as anyone who’s eaten Cambodian water spinach — much of it grown here in Houston — will tell you. But bringing in water spinach from Cambodia and growing it for profit (despite its status over here as a noxious weed) is entirely different from eating species [...]
Both fishermen and fish species have benefited from “no-take” protections at a marine reserve in the Florida Keys, according to a government report. The report found that overfished species — including red and black grouper, yellowtail and mutton snapper — have increased in abundance and size inside the reserve and throughout the area, according to [...]
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 [...]
A recent study demonstrates a new approach that may allow scientists to better approximate the risks for bacteria to develop resistance to different families of antibiotics. In the study, conducted by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, resistance genes from E. [...]
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 [...]