People love Florida-farmed clams. They are great on pasta or to eat baked, steamed or raw. Sales of these munchable mollusks typically peak around holidays, but during the 2020 Memorial Day weekend, Florida clam farmers watched as markets for their product dwindled in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants and bars are the largest…
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Communities in the South Atlantic coastal region are increasingly experiencing the effects of re-occurring flooding from sea-level rise, which compromises infrastructure critical to transportation, stormwater and emergency operations. This ‘nuisance flooding’ also impacts the quality of life for residents faced with disruption of essential services and reduced mobility. The effects of rising seas and flooding…
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Save the date for goliath grouper! The 12th Annual Great Goliath Grouper Count is scheduled to take place June 1–14, 2021. The Great Goliath Grouper Count is a stakeholder driven effort, made possible through collaboration with Florida Sea Grant, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and county partners. Every year, the project provides a “snapshot”…
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Each year, Florida Sea Grant awards the $1000 Skoch Scholarship to an outstanding high school senior competing in the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida. The scholarship recognizes promising young researchers in a coastal or marine science-related field. This year’s winner is Camila Rimoldi Ibanez, a senior in the dual enrollment program at Sebring…
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Harmful Algal Blooms and Piney Point Reservoir Piney Point is a wastewater storage facility located in Manatee County, Florida. In late March of 2021, a tear was reported in the liner of the largest pond putting the reservoir — which contains processed water from a former phosphate facility, seawater from a Port Manatee dredge project, and…
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Since 2014, UF/IFAS Extension Florida Sea Grant agents have engaged citizen scientists to help gather data that managers need to evaluate coastal waters. Agents train citizens in agency-approved water quality-testing protocols and provide them with the equipment they need. While the data cannot be used for regulatory purposes, it provides researchers and managers a higher resolution view of trends…
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Applications due March 31, 2021 PLEASE SHARE WIDELY (PDF version) The University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions (CSS) and Florida Sea Grant (FSG) are pleased to announce a new year-long (12-month) coastal policy analyst opportunity to advance the development and implementation of science-based coastal policy in Florida. The position will support the mission of Florida Sea Grant through the…
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By: Lourdes Rodriguez, 954-577-6363 office, 954-242-8439 mobile, rodriguezl@ufl.edu FLORIDA – Florida’s coral reef ecosystems are at a critical state of vulnerability and in need of conservation efforts. Of much concern is the Southeast Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area, also referred to as the Coral ECA, the northernmost part of Florida’s reef tract stretching from the…
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Three graduate students at Florida universities have been named recipients of scholarships from the Aylesworth Foundation for the Advancement of Marine Sciences. The winners are Scott Alford, a doctoral student at University of Florida; Amy Fellgren, a master’s student at University of West Florida; and Katherine Harris, a master’s student at University of Central Florida. Since 1986,…
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Living shorelines use natural materials like sand, oysters, and marsh grass to protect coastal property from erosion and to promote ecosystem health and improved water quality. UF/IFAS Sea Grant agents and affiliate researchers have created a series of documents that describe how living shorelines function, what their benefits are, as well as permitting and installation…
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