Fatal Attraction: Debris and Sea Turtles

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Image via WikiMedia commons

by Nick Perni, RJD Intern   For decades there has been a steady increase in the production of plastic materials. Due to negligent disposal techniques and the resiliency of the material, plastic accounts for 80% of all Marine debris in some areas. The large abundance of plastic in the world’s oceans and coastal areas has detrimental effects on marine organisms. Sea turtles in particular have been heavily affected; all six species have been recorded to ingest debris nearly 90% of which is made up of plastic. The two main ways that plastic debris affects turtles is by entanglement and ingestion. … Continue reading →

Shark tagging with the Sarasota Military Academy

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Sarasota Military Academy students pose for a photo after a great day on the water.

by Emily Rose Nelson, RJD Intern 5/3/13 In the midst of finals, the best study break you can ask for is a day sharktagging in Islamorada. I was eager to put down my books and get on the water. After it had been raining for a few days straight I was nervous the trip may be cancelled, but the weather looked like it was going to hold out and I would get my much needed study break. The RJD team prepared the boat, Sarasota Military Academy arrived, and we were off. Upon arrival at the site drumlines were deployed with … Continue reading →

University of Miami scientists catch great white shark in Florida Keys

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A great white shark caught in the Florida Keys on 5/13/13. Photo credit: Virginia Ansaldi, RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program intern

5/14/13 David Shiffman, Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy student Yesterday, during the course of sampling for our ongoing shark population survey, the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program (RJD)  team caught a great white shark estimated at 10-11 feet in length. The shark was caught east of Islamorada in the Florida Keys, in approximately 100 feet of water.   The RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program has caught, sampled, tagged, and released thousands of sharks in the Florida Keys, the Everglades, and the Bahamas, but this was the first great white shark we’ve ever caught in Florida. Our lab has a long-term … Continue reading →

Fish Aggregating Devices: Ecological Problems with a Common Fishing Technique

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Yellowfin tuna, commonly caught by FAD. Wikimedia commons

by Tom Tascone, RJD Intern If you’ve seen the television show “Wicked Tuna” on National Geographic, then you are certainly familiar with some of the techniques associated with long line fishing of these species.  While this is the method of choice for recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen seeking various species of tropical tuna have abandoned the traditional “rod-and-reel” technique for a far more effective tool.  Known as the Fish Aggregating Device (FAD), this tool relies on the natural behavior of tuna to congregate under floating objects on the surface of the ocean.  Most FADs are made from bamboo rafts in order … Continue reading →

Anthropogenic Noise Pollution and Cetaceans

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A humpback whale. Fritz Geller-Grimm, Wikimedia Commons

Brittany Bartlett, RJD Intern It is no secret that our oceans and the species within them face a wide range of anthropogenic, human induced threats. And, as a result, the health of the ocean is rapidly declining. Among these threats is that of pollution; plastics, oil, runoff, etc. One form of pollution that tends to be overlooked is noise pollution, specifically the use of Navy Sonar. Navy sonar is used as a security measure to detect underwater objects. It emits pulses of sound into the water, which then proceed to bounce of objects beneath the ocean and create echoes. These … Continue reading →

Seismic airguns: A threat to our oceans

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Figure 1. NASA satellite image of oil slick from Deepwater Horizon spill May 24, 2010 (Wikimedia Commons)

by Zackery Good, RJD Intern As the third anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill approaches on April 20th it is important to look at the lessons learned as well as the current state of offshore drilling.  The Deepwater Horizon spill released over four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before finally being capped after 84 days (Camilli et al. 2010, Crone and Tolstoy 2010) . According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2010 report 491,292 pounds of oiled debris were removed from environmentally sensitive areas in Florida alone.  It is also estimated that the … Continue reading →