Archive for April, 2010

Spring Florida Keys Bonefish Population Census

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Esteemed Guides and Anglers, we need your help! This will be our third consecutive year of conducting a Spring Bonefish Population Census to calibrate with results from the Fall Florida Keys Bonefish Population Census, now in its 8 th year. The 2010 Spring census event is planned for Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

Bonefishing is a multimillion dollar industry in the Florida Keys and virtually all of the fish are released unharmed to fight again. The bonefish census, coordinated by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) and the University of Miami RSMAS , helps to determine population trends of one of the Keys most important sport fish. This is the first and only population estimate ever done on bonefish anywhere in the world. The census information is vital to evaluating year-to-year changes in the bonefish population and providing guidance that ensures a sustainable fishery!!!

Fall census results have indicated a population of just over 320,000 bonefish in the Florida Keys fishery. We want to use the Spring census to calibrate our Fall estimates and to determine if there is a seasonal component to the bonefish population size estimates. Of particular note, your participation in this year’s census is critically important because we are trying to get a handle on the extent to which January’s extremely cold weather has impacted the Florida Keys bonefish population.

Our ability to detect population size differences from year to year depends on the number of census participants. The more participants we have the more robust our population size estimate. Please volunteer to help us as we need greater coverage of the fishery running from Key Biscayne to the Marquesas. All the information collected during the census will remain strictly confidential and be used only for scientific research purposes.

If you are able to participate please contact Dr. Jerry Ault at jault@rsmas.miami.edu or 305-421-4884. Once we have heard from you we will mail you a census package with a datasheet. Your responsibilities are minimal, all we ask is that you record: the zone(s) you fished; the distance poled; and, the number of bonefish seen. Simple, but very important! Finally, census datasheets will also be available from Florida Keys Outfitters (305-664-5423) or can be downloaded at www.bonefishresearch.com

We are counting on you to help us determine the current population size of this very important sports fish.
Dr. Jerry Ault
jault@rsmas.miami.edu

Invasive Lionfish Found at Key Largo’s Harry Harris Beach

By KEVIN WADLOW
kwadlow@keynoter.com
Saturday, April 10, 2010 06:00 AM EDT

Alecia Adamson and Lad Akins capture a small lionfish from inside a protected swim area at Harry Harris Park on Thursday. Sightings of the nonnative lionfish are becoming more common in Keys waters.

A lionfish capture Thursday took only minutes, but it ranks as one of the most worrisome lionfish incidents yet in Florida Keys waters. The juvenile lionfish, measuring just under two inches long, was captured in the shallow water of an enclosed swim area at Harry Harris County Park in Tavernier.

“We don’t want people to panic, but this is a little disturbing,” said Lad Akins of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, looking at the park’s beach, crowded even on a weekday afternoon. Akins, one of the best-known experts in lionfish eradication in Florida and Caribbean waters, and REEF associate Alecia Adamson netted and bagged the lionfish near a culvert on the west side of the Harry Harris swim basin.

The swim area is completely surrounded by a stony seawall, but three large culverts allow water exchange. Grates in the culverts screen large animals out but even an adult lionfish could pass in the grate openings. “We’ve had some lionfish sightings near shore before, but nothing like this,” Akins said. “It shows the value of early detection and rapid response.”

In the 14 months since January 2009, when the first lionfish was spotted in Keys waters, there have been 119 sightings in Monroe County waters, with 71 lionfish captured. Most have been juveniles, but fish up to 9 inches have been taken locally. Lionfish are an invasive species, a Pacific Ocean fish notable for its array of feathery plumed spines. All of the spines pack a strong venom jolt for swimmers or divers who are stuck. Lionfish stings are extremely painful and can cause respiratory problems but are not usually fatal.

Lionfish are not aggressive toward swimmers or divers, but they often do not shy away from humans. It is possible to hit one by accident. “Some of the big ones are curious. They’ll come up to see what a diver is doing,” Akins said.

The species may have gained a foothold along the U.S. coast and the Caribbean when hurricanes flooded South Florida, or when private owners released them when they outgrew home tanks. Biologists worry the fast-breeding and ravenous lionfish have no natural enemies in Atlantic waters and could become a threat to native fish populations. In areas like the Bahamas, lionfish have overwhelmed reefs.

Since March 31, six lionfish sightings have been reported locally to staff with the Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. “We expected this, since it’s getting warmer and more people get back into the water,” sanctuary spokeswoman Karrie Carnes said.

A tropical-fish collector spotted one this week at a piling near the Niles Channel Bridge in the Lower Keys. Other recent sightings have come from the Bibb shipwreck in about 130 feet of water off Key Largo, and the Aquarius underwater marine laboratory site at Conch Reef off Islamorada. Staff with the state Fish and Wildlife Research Institute found a lionfish inside an experimental lobster trap in the Gulf of Mexico north of the Seven Mile Bridge.

An Ocala couple, Darby and Tammy Dugan, recognized the lionfish at Harry Harris Park on Wednesday while taking pictures of sea life. “They told the staff at Ocean Divers about it, and Ocean Divers knew to call it in,” Akins said. “The fish was exactly where the Dugans said they saw it.” The Keys sanctuary held a September training session on lionfish capture, and issued 100 permits to dive-operation staff to use nets or slurp guns to take lionfish they see inside Sanctuary Preservation Areas, where all harvest of fish usually is banned.

“Our goal is to control lionfish, especially in areas like the SPAs,” Carnes said. “It’s not really feasible to say we can eradicate them, given the ocean currents and increasing numbers of lionfish.” Another training session for lionfish removal is being planned for later this year.

Meanwhile, staff at the REEF headquarters in Key Largo is working with federal marine biologists to prepare a lionfish cookbook, in hopes of raising awareness of the lionfish as a food fish. Divers and snorkelers who sight a lionfish should call local reporting hotlines: (305) 852-0030 or (305) 395-8730.