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Florida promotes itself as the fishing capital of the world, and fishing is one of the state's most popular recreational activities. As the state faces increasing anthropogenic and natural environmental stressors, effective resource management is of paramount importance in sustaining healthy fisheries. The Fisheries Independent Monitoring (FIM) program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute regularly monitors relative abundance of various size and age classes of multiple sport fish species (e.g., Centropomus undecimalis common snook, Sciaenops ocellatus red drum, Cynoscion nebulosus spotted seatrout) to provide timely data to fisheries managers. The FIM program samples seven major Florida estuaries, including four that the National Estuary Program has designated as estuaries of national significance (Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Coastal and Heartland, and Indian River Lagoon). Although the FIM program sampling design is consistent and results are comparable among estuaries, the environmental perturbations, available habitats, habitat use by resource species, and recruitment dynamics vary, which can result in different abundance trends among estuaries. The goal of this study was to assess the role of early life stages as refuges for adult populations for two inshore sport fish species and examine their potential in forecasting relative abundance of fishery stocks. We present long-term abundance trends and assess lagged regressions among size or age classes to reveal the importance of size class refuges and identify preferred habitats that are estuary- and age class-specific, providing tools for better managing fishery stocks and habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-bear (Ursus spp.) interactions (HBI) commonly occur in residential areas throughout North America. Negative HBI can be alleviated by using bear-resistant garbage cans (BRC) and by securing other bear attractants (e.g., bird feeders). Since the early 2000s, human and Florida black bear (U. americanus floridanus) densities have increased substantially throughout Florida, USA, concurrently producing an increase in HBI. In central Florida, an area with high densities of humans and black bears, we surveyed 2 neighborhoods that occurred in an urban ordinance zone established in 2016 that required residents to secure anthropogenic food sources. Residents were supplied with BRC in 2017, and our surveys in 2017 and 2018 assessed the changes in HBI in the year before and after receiving BRC as well as the attitudes of residents toward ordinance measures and the perceived effectiveness of BRC. We found that a combination of preventive measures practiced by residents along with use of BRC effectively reduced HBI by 54%, especially bears eating garbage (reduced to 0%). Consequently, residents spent more time outdoors in their neighborhoods and experienced an elevated quality of life because fear of HBI lessened. We also analyzed public calls to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission concerning HBI. Public calls declined during the 5 years after the ordinance was established compared to 5 years prior. A reduction in HBI (especially conflicts) and public acceptance of using BRC is a long-term goal for management of black bears in Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the scale of fish movements is essential to establish appropriate fisheries management boundaries. In Florida (USA), Permit (Trachinotus falcatus) is a valued recreational species as a sportfish and as table fare. The Permit fishery in Florida occurs in two geographic sectors: (1) in the Florida Keys and in Biscayne Bay, most anglers value Permit as a sportfish and generally practice catch and release; (2) north of the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay, where a higher proportion of anglers are harvest oriented. In 2011, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) established a Special Permit Zone (SPZ) in the Florida Keys and Biscayne Bay to reduce harvest and to improve the shallow water flats fishery, but maintained regulations friendly to the harvest fishery in the remainder of the state. To determine the extent to which the SPZ is an effective spatial management tool to protect the South Florida sportfish fishery, we used a state-wide mark-recapture program and acoustic telemetry focused on tracking the northern fishery. Between March 2010 and August 2019, anglers dart tagged 1488 Permit, and we acoustically tagged 17 Permit. Only 28 dart-tagged fish were recaptured during the study period and just two of those had moved across the SPZ boundary; in addition, only one of the 17 telemetered fish migrated southward and was detected 3 km south of the SPZ boundary. These results corroborate previous research of Permit movements in the SPZ which also showed infrequent movement across the SPZ border. Thus, it appears that the current spatial approach to management of Permit in south Florida is appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recreational shark fisheries have been the subject of recent public attention because of the possible impacts on shark populations and conflicts between stakeholders.A case study is presented based on discussions that took place in summer 2018 about potential changes to policies regulating recreational land‐based shark fishing in Florida. Comments from public meetings and workshops (totalling 15.8 hours) and online comments (1,050) submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) were analysed using the lens of actor–network theory.The case study explores the intersection of conflicting stakeholder interests and types of knowledge, including how stakeholders variously defined the problem of user conflict in a coastal public space, and how they aligned themselves in relation to the problem and to each other. It further illustrates how shifting values and norms can intersect with changing technologies and environmental realities to produce new or increasing conflicts between natural resource user groups.This study underlines the importance and potential benefits of regulatory agencies explicitly and transparently engaging with value trade‐offs when managing conflicts among users of natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Great Goliath Grouper Count (GGGC), a program initiated in 2010 by Florida Sea Grant and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to collect data on the Atlantic goliath grouper. The goliath grouper is a large reef species that was overfished and experienced population declines in the past. The GGGC utilizes trained divers who follow standardized protocols to report data on the number, size, and location of goliath groupers observed during underwater surveys. The program has expanded to include the entire state of Florida and has provided valuable data for stock assessments and fisheries management. [Extracted from the article]

Environmental pressures can influence recruitment of estuarine fishes by impacting growth and survival of juveniles as well as adult habitat use and behavior. Identifying potential drivers of year‐class strength is an important tool for assessing stock health and implementing management decisions. The goal of this study was to determine how environmental factors and adult stock influence trends in recruitment of Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus in Cedar Key, Florida. Juvenile indices of abundance were generated using sampling data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fisheries‐Independent Monitoring program. Young‐of‐the‐year indices of abundance suggested that annual recruitment was variable in this system and declined throughout the majority of the 1996–2018 time series. Adult abundance and water temperature in the spawning season were the most significant variables in predicting Spotted Seatrout recruitment, and both had positive relationships with recruitment. Salinity and river discharge were not significant environmental variables in predicting year‐class strength of Spotted Seatrout in this study. Our results indicated that recruitment was associated with interannual changes in water temperature and adult abundance, which could be used to explore how Spotted Seatrout recruitment dynamics could vary for stock assessments, for management decisions, and as a result of warming waters due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two species of marine catfishes (family: Ariidae) are abundant within the Apalachicola Bay System for much of the year. They function as 2nd and 3rd order consumers and as prey for top predators. Males perform oral incubation, a trait of most ariid catfish species, and thus, unique considerations may be factored into conservation efforts. The purpose of this study was to reveal trends in catfish abundance and spatial distributions and identify the abiotic factors associated with these patterns. Data from fifteen years of monthly fishery-independent monitoring surveys performed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were used to examine catch per unit effort and an optimized hot spot analysis was used to observe spatial distributions. Boosted regression tree models were used to examine the relationship between abiotic factors and catfish abundance and movement. Both species co-occurred with overlapping distributions throughout most of the year and were most abundant prior to and during the spawning season in May through August. Hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis Linnaeus) were much more abundant than gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus Mitchill) throughout the study. A migration event was observed for both gafftopsail catfish and hardhead catfish, likely in response to temperature changes. Boosted regression tree models revealed that salinity and water clarity were mainly influencing hardhead catfish distributions with temperature also being relevant throughout much of the year. Salinity was less influential for gafftopsail catfish which were mostly affected by water clarity and temperature. These results differ from observations of ariid catfish in tropical ecosystems in which ariid distributions are segregated and migration events occur twice a year and are salinity driven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Coexisting with wildlife' and 'living with wildlife' are commonly used in communication efforts designed to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. However, there is little information on how the public understands these terms and how their understanding compares to wildlife managers' intended message. In 2019 we surveyed 1,045 Florida residents and 140 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials to examine their understanding of, and preferences for, the terms 'coexisting with wildlife' and 'living with wildlife.' We analyzed data using qualitative and quantitative methods. FWC officials were more likely to interpret both terms as people changing their behavior to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts or tolerating conflicts with wildlife, whereas the public tended to focus on reduced nuisance behavior by wildlife. Wildlife managers should clearly define terms to avoid confusion or miscommunication, which may result in the public not altering their behavior or mistakenly taking actions that exacerbate human-wildlife conflicts such as domesticating wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study of admission data of 401 West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) presented to the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center at ZooTampa at Lowry Park (ZooTampa) for rehabilitation from August 1991 through October 2017. Causes of admittance, location of rescue, gender, and age class were all recorded for each manatee admitted. Admittance categories as defined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) included watercraft collisions, natural causes, entanglement, entrapment, orphaned calves, captive born, mothers of rescued calves, calves of rescued mothers, human, and other. The admitted population was primarily from the southwest and northwest coasts and related waterways of Florida. The gender difference was relatively equivocal (54% female) while the adults comprised 79% of the admissions. The overall total admissions increased steadily over the study period as did the admissions for each individual categories of admission. Watercraft collisions and natural causes combined were 71% of all admissions for the entire study period and are the dominant causes of admission. Watercraft collisions are more likely to occur during May through October, whereas natural causes of admittance are more likely to occur between December and March. Rehabilitated manatees may reduce overall manatee mortality and can provide insight into population-based health concerns if evaluated appropriately. Future efforts can incorporate physical examination findings, hematology, biochemistry profiles, and ancillary diagnostic testing to continue to improve the individual welfare of this marine mammal in its natural range. Admissions data could also potentially serve the wider conservation and recovery efforts if it is proven that the data obtained is at least as informative as that obtained by the carcass salvage program. Limited conservation resources could then be re-directed as new challenges arise with the expanding population and potentially expanding range of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nile Monitors (Varanus niloticus) are large (up to 2.4 m in length), semiaquatic, carnivorous lizards native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Nile Monitors are reported from southeastern Florida near the Homestead Air Reserve Base in Miami-Dade County, around Southwest Ranches in Broward County, and from a reproducing population along the C-51 canal in Palm Beach County. This study characterizes the diet of Nile Monitors removed from Palm Beach and Broward counties. In 2012, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff and University of Florida researchers began conducting monthly boat surveys along the C-51 canal and driving and walking surveys in Southwest Ranches. We used Nile Monitors removed with firearms or live traps from southeastern Florida from 2012 to 2016. We extracted gastrointestinal (GI) tracts and collected gut contents when present. We rinsed, sorted, dried, examined, and identified gut contents to the lowest taxonomic level possible. We examined 68 GI tracts (30 males, 37 females, 1 of undetermined sex) and identified 1,484 prey items from 65 individuals. We categorized prey items as gastropod, diplopod, malacostracan, arachnid, insect, fish, amphibian, reptile, reptile egg, bird, and mammal. Adult Nile Monitors exhibited the highest dietary diversity and evenness among size classes, and there was no observable difference in diet between males and females. Our observations confirm Nile Monitors are active foragers, and the combination of broad diet and active foraging makes it unlikely that food availability will limit distribution of these invasive lizards in Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidental take permits by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are required when a Burrowing Owl burrow will be impacted by clearing or construction. These permits are issued only for burrows that are inactive. The typical breeding season for Burrowing Owls is 15 February-10 July. This project had 4 chronology-related objectives: 1) estimate the percentage of burrows in south Florida that became active prior to 15 February, 2) identify the range of dates when nesting was initiated, 3) estimate the percentage of burrows occupied by adult owls prior to 15 February, and 4) estimate the percentage of decorated burrows that were active. A fifth objective was to determine if the burrow lengths of Burrowing Owls in south Florida are comparable to those in the published literature. We scoped 89 burrows at four sites from 30 November 2007 to 14 February 2008. Only 4.4% (n = 4) of the burrows were active (contained eggs or flightless chicks). Burrow lengths ranged from 0.3 m to 3.2 m with a mean length of 2.05 m. This study found less than a 5% probability of a burrow being active between the 30 November and 14 February so the risk of encountering an active burrow while executing an FWC incidental take permit during this period is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ages of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) can be estimated by counting annual growth layer groups (GLGs) in the periotic dome portion of the tympanoperiotic complex of their earbones. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission manages an archive of more than 8,700 Florida manatee earbones collected from salvaged carcasses from 1989 to 2017. Our goal was to comprehensively evaluate techniques used to estimate age, given this large sample size and changes to processing protocols and earbone readers over time. We developed new standards for estimating ages from earbones, involving two independent readers to obtain measurements of within- and between-reader precision. To quantify accuracy, precision, and error, 111 earbones from manatees with approximately known ages (first known as calves: "KAC") and 69 earbones from manatees with minimum known ages ("MKA," based on photo-identification sighting histories) were processed, and their ages were estimated. There was greater precision within readers (coefficient of variation, CV : 2.4–8.5%) than between readers (CV : 13.1–13.3%). The median of age estimates fell within the true age range for 63.1% of KAC cases and was at least the sighting duration for 75.0% of MKA cases. Age estimates were generally unbiased, as indicated by an average raw error ± SD of −0.05 ± 3.05 years for the KAC group. The absolute error (i.e. absolute value of raw error) of the KAC data set averaged 1.75 ± 2.50 years. Accuracy decreased and error increased with increasing known age, especially for animals over 15 years old, whose ages were mostly underestimated due to increasing levels of resorption (the process of bone turnover that obscures GLGs). Understanding the degree of uncertainty in age estimates will help us assess the utility of age data in manatee population models. We emphasize the importance of standardizing and routinely reviewing age estimation and processing protocols to ensure that age data remain consistent and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Telemetry is being used to generate an unprecedented level of knowledge on the underwater environment, much of which is relevant to marine policy and management. Yet, examples of telemetry directly informing management practices are still rare or undocumented. Here we describe a case in which fish telemetry data were rapidly incorporated into recreational fisheries policy for Permit (Trachinotus falcatus) in Florida. The reproductive strategy of Permit involves forming large aggregations, during which time they are often targeted by recreational anglers. To protect Permit from overfishing, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission established regulations in 2011 to prohibit Permit harvest during May through July, based on knowledge of seasonal Permit reproductive status. However, an acoustic telemetry study initiated in 2016 revealed that spawning aggregations were forming prior to this period, during the month of April. This information had a rapid and definitive impact on fisheries management policy. Given the well-documented difficulties of incorporating new science and information into environmental decision-making, this case provides valuable insights into how the knowledge-action gap may be bridged. Many factors contributed to the rapid uptake of this telemetry-derived knowledge into management, including applied research funding and objectives, integrating managers and stakeholders into the research, rapid dissemination of preliminary data, plus well-established relationships amongst scientists, managers, and stakeholders mediated by a non-government organization, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. These factors may serve as a basis for researchers and managers seeking to translate new research into management practice, improving research impact and achievement of conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laws protecting the Atlantic Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara from fishing in federal and state waters of the United States (US) occurred in 1990 after the species was identified as being severely overfished. Population increases that occurred during the first 20 years of the closure were followed by a decline in the 10 years thereafter. Despite the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's call to retain full protection for this species in federal waters, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) decided to open a limited fishery in state waters for juveniles. Here, we review the literature demonstrating the initial recovery of Goliath Grouper in the U.S., the limits of that recovery, and the ensuing factors that precipitated its subsequent decline; we discuss the risks associated with management decisions that ignore the best available scientific information; and we compare management differences and difficulties among nations within the Atlantic Goliath Grouper's global range. The major findings are that Goliath Grouper populations have not fully recovered and that FWC has not sought to conserve and protect them. Resolving these problems will require the Governor of the State of Florida to appoint Commissioners that represent a range of stakeholders with expertise in ecology, conservation, and management beyond that provided by the FWC agency; to better train appointees lacking in those areas; and to choose candidates who embrace use of the best available science in making critical decisions that affect Florida ecosystems, native species, and Florida residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society announced two awards for 2021, and the Influential Woman in Wildlife Award acknowledges a woman who has made outstanding contributions in field of wildlife management or conservation, and recognizes the leadership and inspiration.