Bonefish Spawning Aggregations

Not your everyday baitball.

During a recent Bonefish & Tarpon Trust expedition, Dr. Andy Danylchuk (UMass Amherst), Dr. Aaron Adams (BTT/Florida Institute of Technology), Dr. Jon Shenker (Florida Institute of Technology), and Zack Jud (Florida International University) reconfirmed that bonefish in The Bahamas form massive spawning aggregations at very specific locations during specific lunar days. Using manual tracking and depth sensors, they also documented that bonefish use depths of greater than 160 feet (50 m) when spawning, after which they return quickly to shallow water.  

Stay tuned as this team continues to analyze hours of video footage, still images, and biological data. Collectively, this work will help identify sites throughout The Bahamas and elsewhere in Florida and the Caribbean where bonefish spawn and that need protection from habitat disturbance and overfishing.

All photos courtesy of Dr. Andy Danylchuk.

The One That Got Away (Size Matters)

Consider this the next time you see someone posing in front of a grander hanging above the dock.

The tail of the thresher shark is not just for show

Tagging Mako and Blue Sharks

via: NOAA

“Tis hatched and shall be so”

(Photo: Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

The eating of the shrew.

With apologies to Sir William Shakespeare.

Lost in Migration – Copper's Effect on Alaska's Salmon

From The Story Group

New science is pointing to a dark future for Alaska's Bristol Bay salmon if the controversial Pebble copper mine is developed. This video looks at the effects a massive mine development would have on salmon in Bristol Bay's most productive sockeye spawning rivers. What science has uncovered are the effects of minute amounts of copper in salmon streams and how the mine will alter the fragile hydrology of the ecosystem.