Boca Grande is the historical site of the tarpon fishery, the center of tarpon reproduction, and a way-station for tarpon that make up the fishery for much of the region. Charlotte Harbor is also Mote Marine Laboratory’s historical home. When Mote opened its doors in 1955 as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory, it was based in nearby Placida.
In January 2013, Mote’s regional presence will grow as it opens a new satellite office in Boca Grande to help engage the community and region in tarpon and other marine research undertaken by Mote in Charlotte Harbor and Southwest Florida. It will also highlight new research directions designed to support conservation of area fisheries and habitat.
The office is being opened under the auspices of a community-wide grassroots committee to increase knowledge of — and support for — the region’s important marine environment and the conservation of it. The effort is being spearheaded by Boca Grande residents Andy Ireland, an honorary Mote trustee, and Capt. Philip O’Bannon, who will be Executive Director of the new Mote Office in Boca Grande.
Work is already under way to expand Mote’s Beach Conditions Report — which provides the public with information about whether beaches are affected by red tide and other environmental conditions — to two sites on the Island thanks to an anonymous donation.
“A lot of people think that scientific knowledge flows only one way: from scientists to the community,” said Dr. Michael Crosby, Senior Vice President for Research at Mote Marine Laboratory. “But over Mote’s nearly 60-year history, we’ve shown that isn’t true. As an independent organization not tied to government or a university, we’ve always depended on strong ties to the communities that we work in. We’ve often found that we have as much to learn from local residents as we can share.
“This is an exciting partnership that we are embarking on — together.”
The new Mote satellite office will be located in Railroad Plaza. It is designed to be a focal point and resource where residents and visitors can learn more about local tarpon, snook, shark and red tide research programs under way now, as well as all the research programs that Mote undertakes in Sarasota and other areas in Florida and around the world. With it will come a series of regular lectures on relevant marine science topics, other programs of interest in the community and updates on Mote’s worldwide activities.
O’Bannon, a 40-year Island fishing guide and one of the most knowledgeable about the region’s waterways, said he is excited to be leading the way. “I’ve spent my life on the water and now this is my opportunity to give something back — to help make sure we have healthy fisheries for future generations.”
Charlotte Harbor is one of Florida’s — and even the nation’s — few remaining healthy estuaries. While there has been degradation over time with increased habitat destruction and other environmental changes, strong science-based conservation programs will play a critical role in preventing further degradation and in keeping the local fisheries healthy.
“This is the world’s tarpon fishing capital and it’s also a pretty important place for snook and other gamefish,” said Boca Grande resident and former U.S. Representative Andy Ireland, who is an honorary Mote Marine Laboratory trustee. “This fishery alone is worth millions of dollars to the region’s economy, but more importantly, it’s an invaluable part of the fabric of our community.”
The privilege of living in the Tarpon Capital of the World also comes with a responsibility, he said. “We need to be good stewards of our marine environment. To have good stewardship of a resource, you need to have the participation of knowledgeable residents. We hope the creation of this new satellite office will help bring that about.”
Boca residents are particularly interested in studies of tarpon, snook, red tide and sharks and in more focused efforts surrounding these topics. In response, Mote Marine Laboratory is opening a new branch office in Boca Grande. The following are summaries of Mote research under way in the Harbor and possible areas of expansion:
The magnificent tarpon fishery of Boca Grande is possible because tarpon use Boca Grande Pass and Charlotte Harbor as a gathering place during spawning season. Tens of thousands of tarpon gather in the Pass annually as part of a pre-spawning aggregation. Near the full and new moons of late May through early July, groups of tarpon leave the Pass and migrate offshore to spawn (exactly where they spawn, we don’t yet know). Mote is already working with the state of Florida to track tarpon in the wild using DNA samples collected by anglers. Our studies also include tagging tarpon with satellite transmitters to determine their movement patterns.
Now, Mote is proposing the first-ever, large-scale acoustic tagging project of adult tarpon. This groundbreaking initiative — including partnership with local fishing guides and anglers — will determine the movements of tarpon.
· An array of 100 receivers will be placed in multiple habitats in and around Charlotte Harbor, including the passes, along beaches, rivers and within the estuary and will record movements of each fish. The information will be used to understand tarpon habitat use and how tarpon respond to changes in fishing pressure and river flow. The receivers will also tell us whether tarpon return to Boca Grande Pass after spawning offshore and whether they return year after year.
Our tagging approach will also tell us how tarpon are responding to stressors and allow us to track the movement of tarpon beyond Charlotte Harbor and into the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern U.S. coastal waters thanks to similar underwater arrays in other locations.
Our studies have already shown that snook return to the same beaches to spawn annually and that individual juvenile snook find a single mangrove creek and live out the first year of their lives in it. This level of fidelity to single locations creates challenges for conservation — if a specific juvenile or spawning habitat location is damaged, what will happen to the broader population? This suggests that successful management of snook in Charlotte Harbor must come from managing the estuary’s snook population, rather than addressing management on a wider, regional scale. Unfortunately, not enough is known about the Boca Grande-Charlotte Harbor snook population to make informed decisions on the best management plan for the long-term sustainability of the Charlotte Harbor population.
Snook studies will include:
- Acoustic tagging
- Genetic tracking
- Otolith chemistry
Nowhere in the world is saltwater sport fishing a more important cultural and recreational pastime — as well as a critical part of our regional economy — than in our own state of Florida.
Florida saltwater fishing brings an astonishing $5.1 billion annually to our state’s economy. While visitors may see a bountiful catch, local communities and experienced Florida anglers know that fishing here now is not what it once was.
Because snook and tarpon have similar life histories as juveniles, we propose a two-pronged Initiative that combines aquaculture-based stock enhancement of wild populations and the restoration of critical habitats to ensure the long-term viability of both species in the Boca Grande-Charlotte Harbor region.
· Mass production of snook through aquaculture is “shovel ready” at Mote Aquaculture Park and could be the source for a significant stock enhancement initiative. For tarpon, however, much better understanding and development of larval foods is required and is likely many years away. We propose to rapidly ramp up mass production of snook for near-term stock enhancement of the Boca Grande-Charlotte Harbor region and implement a major new tarpon aquaculture research program at Mote Aquaculture Park.
· In addition, Mote proposes to survey the Charlotte Harbor region to identify critical habitats for juvenile tarpon and snook, determine which of these locations are protected, which need protection and which require restoration and then design and conduct the restoration projects.
Mote scientists will work with local recreational anglers and resource management agencies to identify and map these areas and, once identified, locations will be sampled to estimate abundance, growth and survival. Locations identified as healthy habitats will be targeted for protection.
Florida red tides are caused by a single-celled organism called a dinoflagellate. Its species name is Karenia brevis and it occurs naturally throughout the Gulf, but causes problems when the population of cells increases dramatically — what’s known as a red tide bloom. Red tide blooms can produce potent toxins that affect humans and animals.
Mote has created the Sarasota Operations of the Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratories (SO COOL). This Operation is part of a nationwide network of ocean observatories that provide real-time information about coastal marine conditions to a variety of stakeholders. Bringing SO COOL to bear in Boca Grande would give local residents and tourists web-based daily updates on environmental conditions, including red tide and any respiratory irritation it is causing, as well as fish kills and other impacts on the beaches.
SO COOL has two primary components.
- The Mote Beach Conditions Report™ System (www.mote.org/beaches) covers 26 beaches along Florida’s Gulf Coast from the Panhandle south to Lee County. Reports are provided by specially trained and equipped volunteer observers and updated twice daily (at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.), 365 days a year.
- Mote has also designed a special scientific instrument that can continuously monitor water for red tide. These special instruments are placed in underwater robots that are then sent to patrol the Gulf for red tide.
We envision adding Beach Conditions Reports from both the north and south ends of Boca Grande. We would also propose five missions of three weeks each for our underwater robots to patrol Boca Grande’s coastal waters.
Mote has a long history of shark research in the region but far more can be done. Mote proposes an intensive new initiative in research on the sharks of Boca Grande, building upon the Lab’s established bedrock of expertise, and composed of the following facets:
- Conventional, acoustic and satellite tagging of bull sharks and great hammerheads in Boca Grande Pass, to understand their short and long-term movements and behavior.
- Abundance surveys of keystone species of sharks in the Pass and adjacent areas, to quantify the number, size, sex and seasonality of the large shark population.
- Studies of the fine-scale behavior of the sharks of the Pass, using advanced technology called data loggers that are temporarily attached to the sharks. These devices use accelerometers to record the exact movements of the sharks millisecond-by-millisecond, and with that information we can understand how they move inside the Pass, how they hunt for tarpon and other prey, their energy requirements and even such behaviors as mating and courtship. It also reveals how sharks behave after they are caught and released, which provides vital data for managing shark populations.
Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 research organization based in Sarasota, Fla., with field stations in eastern Sarasota County, Charlotte Harbor and the Florida Keys. Donations to Mote are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Mote is dedicated to today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans with an emphasis on world-class research relevant to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources. Research programs include studies of human cancer using marine models, the effects of man-made and natural toxins on humans and on the environment, the health of wild fisheries, developing sustainable and successful fish restocking techniques and food production technologies and the development of ocean technology to help us better understand the health of the environment. Mote research programs also focus on understanding the population dynamics of manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and coral reefs and on conservation and restoration efforts related to these species and ecosystems. Mote’s vision includes positively impacting public policy through science-based outreach and education. Showcasing this research is The Aquarium at Mote, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days a year. Learn more at www.mote.org.
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