Current Projects
In addition to our collaborations with other researchers, our program leads several research and Extension projects.
To learn more about a project, click below:
Through our shark monitoring program, we are able to better understand the abundance and distribution, life history (age and growth, maturity, mortality), movement, and trophic ecology of a wide range of important elasmobranch species inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Our program leads a regional collaborative of Sea Grant fisheries Extension specialists, university scientists, and fisheries managers. The goal of the collaborative is to develop and implement Extension and outreach programming related to reef fish research and management in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
During this 4-year project, pelagic longline fishermen are being recruited to help determine if bluefin tuna mortality can be reduced in the Gulf of Mexico pelagic longline fishery by optimizing fishing depth – specifically, by setting the fishing gear at deeper depths than it is typically set.
To better understand the seasonal movements and habitat use of coastal sportfishes, we are establishing and monitoring a passive acoustic telemetry array within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The disCARD project recruits recreational anglers to help test a new approach for improving the accuracy of reef fish discard reporting using a physical paper catch card paired with quick smartphone photo submission.
