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For more than 20 years, MarineQuest has been an opportunity for Floridians of all ages to learn about Florida's fish, wildlife and their habitats. This year, we invite you to join us from the safety and comfort of your own home. On Saturday, October 17, join us over on our Facebook page for a day filled with some of your past MarineQuest favorites, as well as some exciting new additions. Throughout the day, we will be visiting (virtually) with several of our research programs including right whales, sea turtles, corals, freshwater fish, panthers and more. Join us as each group shares footage from the field and insight into their unique research projects on Florida's many ecosystems, fish and wildlife.
Our School Daze event will also be taking place virtually this year, an event specifically geared towards students, on Thursday, October 15th. Learn more about School Daze and sign up on our website.
Development of a Lionfish Trap
FWC scientists have been working alongside Florida Keys commercial lobster fishermen to develop a modified wire lobster trap that can be used to remove invasive lionfish from deep water, where these lionfish are difficult for divers to pursue. The fishermen sell the lionfish to fish markets for a good price and lionfish numbers are reduced as a result – WIN, WIN!
Learn more about lionfish on our website.
Key Largo Manatee Rescue
FWC biologists, law enforcement and partners recently rescued a manatee entangled in fishing line in Key Largo. The 10 foot, 1100-pound female had monofilament fishing line entangled around both of her flippers. Biologists were able to successfully remove the line from the left flipper in the field, but the animal needed surgery to remove the deeply embedded line in the right flipper, so the manatee was transferred to SeaWorld Orlando.
Rare "Patternless" Eastern Diamondback Spotted in North Florida
FWC biologist Pierson Hill recently documented an extremely unusual “patternless” eastern diamondback rattlesnake in north Florida, which he then microchipped and released safely for identification by researchers in the future. This color morph is exceptionally rare – only a small handful of patternless diamondbacks have been documented by biologists.
Gopher Frogs and a Lot of Data
As part of a statewide gopher frog monitoring project that began in 2015, researchers use dip-net surveys and “frogloggers” – automated frog call recorders. Our researchers collected froglogger data for 3 years, totaling over 2,281 days of recordings, over 54,000 hours! Read much more about this research on our Instagram page.
New on MyFWC.com/Research
We hope you enjoy these articles that have been recently added/updated on our website:
2020 Manatee Mortalities
2019 Manatee Mortalities
Yearly Manatee Mortality Summaries
Manatee Bibliography
FWC Initiates Studies to Investigate Fish Health
Harmful Algal Bloom Grant Program
Northeast Florida Blue Crab Fisheries Independent Monitoring
Cooperative Land Cover, Version 3.4
Internship Opportunities
New Publications
MarineQuest Saturday Program
MarineQuest School Daze Program
Our Mission
Through effective research and technical knowledge, we provide
timely information and guidance to protect, conserve, and manage
Florida's fish and wildlife resources.
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