Environment SBEP Website Now Offers Info on Monitoring Program

SARASOTA The SBEP website has been updated with technical publications of the Fisheries-Independent Monitoring (FIM) Program. This program is developed, conducted and managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) in St. Petersburg.
 
A major component of SBEP's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan is the importance of restoring and protecting juvenile fish habitats. The Sarasota Bay estuary has undergone considerable urbanization since the 1950s. An understanding of the distribution, abundance and habitat use of nekton (fish and macro invertebrate) within the Sarasota Bay estuary is critical to protecting and restoring estuarine habitats.
 
The goal of the FIM Program is to provide timely, accurate, and consistent fisheries-independent data and analysis to fisheries managers for the conservation and protection of Florida's fisheries. FIM reports include Year 1 (July 2010), Year 2 (June 2012), Year 3 (June 2013) and Year 4 (May 2014). Please contact SBEP Staff Scientist, Dr. Jay Leverone at jay@sarasotabay.org to learn more.