Ahead of the Class: Florida Sea Grant Delivers Marine Education
     Florida Sea Grant is active in marine education. At any given moment, Sea Grant's 18 county faculty or 7 campus-based specialists may be running beach and coastal cleanups, marine youth camps, dune and spoil island restoration projects, teacher training workshops, youth fishing tournaments, aquaculture demonstrations, or interactive marine educational exhibits at schools, fairs and special events. These programs are highlighted in this online adaptation of Ahead of the Class: Florida Sea Grant Delivers Marine Education.

Florida Center for the Central Gulf of Mexico COSEE
    COSEE is a national initiative in
ocean science education funded by the National Science Foundation. There are a number of COSEE Centers around the country. Each COSEE Center provides professional development opportunties to enhance ocean literacy for both formal and
non-formal educators.

Follow Your Fish and Kids Cup Tournament
     In Charlotte County, junior anglers are participating with researchers to learn more about the behavior of fish caught and released during the annual Kids Cup Redfish Fishing Tournament. A select number of fish caught at the tournament are marked with dart tags or surgically implanted with a sonic tag. For a brief period after the tournaments, the movements of the fish are monitored, either by recapture reports phoned in to the tagged fish hotline, or through an array of underwater listening devices stationed throughout Charlotte Harbor. Data from the fish are then posted to a Web site, where young anglers can follow the movements of their unique fish.

Resource Rangers: Panhandle Youth to the Rescue
     The Resource Ranger program continues to support marine and aquatic science literacy through many hands-on activities for students in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties. Activities such as fish identification, seining, fishing, “eat an estuary,” kayaking, marine debris timeline, sea turtle escapades and high stakes water safety quiz bowl have increased knowledge of more than 3500 participants in the past few years. In addition, 11 videos shown locally and throughout the Southeast have been produced with topics ranging from wetlands and seagrasses to pollution prevention.

Monofilament Recycling:
Cast Your Used Fishing Line Here
     The same qualities that make nylon monofilament fishing line popular with anglers can make it deadly to wildlife that encounter lost or discarded strands. Environmentally conscious anglers are now finding it easier to dispose of used line properly, thanks to Monofilament Recovery and Recycling bins that have been installed in most counties served by Florida Sea Grant extension agents. Marine extension agent Maia McGuire (left) has begun installing recycling stations at marine fishing spots in Nassau, Duval, St. Johns and Flagler counties. Currently, Florida has one of the nation's most active monofilament recycling efforts. Learn more about monofilament recycling efforts across Florida, and how you can start one of your own.