Changing Seas

Catchandrelease recreational shark fishing is popular in Florida Done from the shore by casting far into the waves these shark anglers arent looking for trophies or shark meat But is this seemingly benign practice having a negative impact on sensitive shark populations Scientists have teamed up with anglers to study the survival rates of the fish and conduct outreach on best practices

Salt marshes are a partliquid partsolid coastal landscape teeming with life Its plants are soilrooted and are essential to the marshs stability in trapping and binding sediments Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and deliver nutrients to coastal waters They also provide coastal protection How do scientists study a salt marsh And how resilient is it to climate change

Commissioned in 1964 as one of the worlds first deepocean submersibles Alvin brings explorers to extraordinary places undersea It has remained stateoftheart as a result of numerous overhauls and upgrades made over its lifetime The most recent completed in 2021 improved the commandandcontrol system allowing greater speed range and maneuverability and enlarged the personnel sphere

Tarpon and snook are two of Floridas most iconic game fish Both species rely on mangrove creeks and ponds when they are juveniles With half of the states mangroves lost to development scientists employ creative solutions to restore and reconnect some of these important habitats to secure the future of the fisheries