Initiative to restore one million corals launches in the Caribbean and Florida Keys

September 12, 2016 Hayley Rutger

(MIAMI, Florida) Sept. 12, 2016 - Mote Marine Laboratory and The Nature Conservancy are partnering on a coral conservation initiative that will enable coral restoration at unprecedented scales throughout the Caribbean and the Florida Keys. The collaboration officially began this evening, Sept. 12, 2016, in Miami, with the signing of a one-year memorandum of understanding (MOU), enabling the first steps in a proposed 15-year initiative of joint coral reef restoration and conservation efforts.  

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Catch and release with care: shark-friendly fishing practices

July 21, 2016 Hayley Rutger

As you enjoy recreational fishing this summer, please remember to handle and release protected fish species with care to help them recover and survive.  Four adult great hammerhead sharks – a protected species in Florida – washed ashore dead in late June to early July in Sarasota County, and members of the public notified Mote Marine Lab and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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Could a solar-powered sailboat help monitor red tide?

June 9, 2016 Hayley Rutger

Seeking new ways to study red tide, Mote Marine Laboratory scientists are helping makers of solar-powered, sailboat drones test their technology in tandem with underwater robots Mote normally deploys to monitor harmful algae in the Gulf of Mexico.  

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Deepwater Horizon anniversary: Preliminary results and 2016 research

April 18, 2016 Hayley Rutger

Since the early days of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which began April 20, 2010, Mote Marine Laboratory has played a significant role in research investigating how oil exposure can affect marine life during and even after a spill. Today, Mote scientists are working toward developing rapid health-diagnostic tests based on sub-lethal responses that will better predict short- and long-term impacts of oil exposure in Gulf of Mexico fishes.   Mote and partners presented preliminary research results at the 2016 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference during Feb. 1-4 in Tampa, Florida. Those results helped lay groundwork for large-scale fish studies that Mote began this month, April 2016.

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