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The waters off South Florida, Mexico and in the Caribbean could see record amounts of sargassum seaweed again this year, researchers say.
A bulletin from the University of South Florida said the amount of sargassum in the Central West Atlantic had increased slightly from the record amount recorded in November.
That month, USF researcher Mengqiu Wang found more than double the November average of seaweed as measured between 2011 and 2017, the Palm Beach Post writes.
“That means 2019 could be similar to the situation in 2018 but whether it develops into a massive bloom may depend on environmental conditions such as temperature and nutrient availability,” Wang told the newspaper. “The most immediate impact would be in the Caribbean.”
Like red tide and blue-green algae that have fouled Florida beaches, sargassum is also an algae.


This Saturday February 2nd, 2019 at the Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series with George Poveromo ROFFS™ analyst James King will be in attendance and representing ROFFS™ – please come find and meet him!

The Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Program (AOTTP) was established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in 2015 to study key aspects of bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna life history and movements in the Atlantic Ocean. Over a five year period, the AOTTP aims to partner with scientists and commercial and recreational tuna fishermen to tag at least 120,000 tropical tuna with conventional and/or electronic tags throughout the Atlantic. The data generated from these tags will be essential in improving understanding of these important species, which will enhance fisheries management and promote sustainability of the stocks. Given the status of the stocks, data on tropical tunas are desperately needed to preserve fishing opportunities in the western North Atlantic.
As part of the AOTTP, Dr. Walt Golet from the University of Maine will be working with colleagues at the New England Aquarium, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, University of Miami, and NOAA Fisheries to deploy 5,000 conventional tags on bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna in the western North Atlantic from Canada to Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. However, to do this, we need your help! If you are interested in participating in the AOTTP project and would like to volunteer to tag bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna, simply contact Dr. Walt Golet ([email protected]) and we can provide you with more information on how to become involved in this free program. Signing up is easy. Just provide your contact information and mailing address and we will send you all the necessary information, instructions, and materials to start tagging tuna. Every fish tagged will not only allow you to become involved in important scientific research, but also give you a chance to win one of 20 individual cash prizes totaling more than $39,000 US dollars that will be awarded at the end of the project.
For more information visit: https://www.iccat.int/aottp/en/index.html
Or call Dr. Golet at 1-207-351-5413.


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