Video: A snook release to remember
Recently, Mote Marine Laboratory scientists released 7,500 healthy, juvenile, hatchery-reared snook into creeks in Southwest Florida, with the goal of replenishing snook populations that have been negatively affected by events such as cold stuns and Florida red tide. This is the largest number of snook Mote has ever produced for a single release experiment during more than 20 years of partnership efforts between Mote and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
"We want to keep snook populations healthy because they are an important component of the saltwater recreational fishing industry in Florida that can generate $8 billion a year," said Dr. Ryan Schloesser, Fisheries Ecology & Enhancement Program Manager at Mote. "If Florid's snook populations are healthy, Florida's economy is healthy."
Video credit: Alex Mangold/Mote Marine Laboratory