Florida Sea Grant journeyed into 2024, navigating uncharted waters. In a year marked by challenges to our coastal and marine communities, we made significant strides in embracing new opportunities while continuing to bolster our support for existing programs and research.
Here are select highlights that showcase the essence of Florida Sea Grant.
Surfing the Airwaves
Florida Sea Grant expanded its outreach through multiple media outlets.
Florida Sea Grant caught some serious air time this year, riding the waves with Marine Science Minute radio broadcasts and Voice of the Sea. Marine Science Minute were 1-minute public service announcements with topics ranging from artificial reefs, horseshoe crabs, mangroves, safe boating and fishing, hurricane preparedness and more. With 36 of 50 episodes airing. Marine Science Minute spots were played on two radio stations in North Florida 6,639 times and these were heard by a total of nearly 3.5 million listeners.
Florida Sea Grant was featured on Hawaii Sea Grant’s Voice of the Sea, a television series that current science research and traditional knowledge can inform science and management practices. The Hawaii team traveled to the Gulf of Mexico to meet up with Florida Sea Grant researchers and partners, and learn about farming clams, oysters, and sponges and living shorelines.
“Clam farming is relatively a new aquaculture industry here for Cedar Key, it started just 30 years ago and in such a short time we are now the leading producers of clams in Florida…it is an amazing story.”
– Leslie Sturmer
Corralling Connections
Florida Sea Grant Guy Harvey Foundation Fellows (Alexis Mitchem & Susannah Cogburn) with Dr. Guy Harvey at ICAST, in Orlando, Florida.
Florida Sea Grant hosted two inaugural symposiums this year, and attended the world’s largest sportfishing trade show!
The year began with the Research Symposium, which highlighted Florida Sea Grant’s role in addressing key focus areas such as Healthy Coastal Ecosystems, Resilient Communities and Economies, and Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture. The event brought together the Florida Sea Grant team—including UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant extension agents, specialists, affiliated researchers, and a cohort of funded students—for the first time in years.
The Flooding Symposium addressed the critical issue of flooding in Florida’s coastal and inland areas. This event facilitated the exchange of academic research and practical approaches to mitigate flooding, while fostering collaboration among stakeholders from diverse sectors. Attendees participated in keynotes, presentations, panel discussions, and interactive activities on topics such as nature-based solutions, infrastructure, policy, and economics. Over 126 were in attendance, representing six U.S. states and two international countries (Canada and Australia).
Florida Sea Grant made a debut appearance at ICAST this year. As first timers at the premier showcase for innovations in the sportfishing industry, we promoted sustainable angling programs and practices including Florida Friendly Anger, Florida Friendly Fishing Guides, scallop sorters, bycatch reduction devices (BRD’s), fish rulers, dehooking tools, and student resources. Our 2024 Florida Sea Grant Guy Harvey Fellows, Alexis Mitchem and Susannah Cogburn, had the special opportunity to accompany the Sea Grant team and connect with hundreds of passionate anglers, including Dr. Guy Harvey himself!
Student Absorbs Community Knowledge
CEI student, Sofia Cordoba (pictured left) with Stetson student, Phoenix Medley, learning how to read the water level gauge at the bioswale. Picture by Sofia Cordoba.
Sofia Cordoba, an undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida, was selected as Florida Sea Grant’s first-ever Community Engaged Intern (CEI), a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Sea Grant’s efforts to training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision-makers, and citizens.
In her CEI role, Sofia created communication materials on green stormwater infrastructure, including bioswale implementation, and educating volunteers and residents on flooding management projects in local governments. The green stormwater infrastructure project is part of a regional resiliency initiative involving several Sea Grant programs, universities, and agencies from states in the southeast Atlantic.
“Hosting a CEI student within Florida Sea Grant is an important step to engage undergraduate students in learning about coastal and marine professions and the importance of working with community stakeholders on coastal issues,” said Holly Abeels, Florida Sea Grant UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Brevard County and CEI internship supervisor.
Step into the day-in-the-life with Florida Sea Grant’s Community Engaged Intern (CEI) Sofia Cordoba, as she dives into her internship at the City of Cape Canaveral. Watch reel here.
Casting a Wider Net
Adaptability has been a core value of Florida Sea Grant. With a shifting demographic and population, it is important our program supports diverse audiences in Florida. In response, the Florida Friendly Angler and Return ‘Em Right program launched the Spanish language version of their training program.
Florida Sea Grant, UF/IFAS Extension, and The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), have developed the Florida Friendly Angler En Español Course, offering fully-narrated lessons covering topics on best catch and release practices, environmental ethics, and fisheries management. The Florida Friendly Fishing certification programs received the 2024 Superior Outreach Programming Teams Award (SOPA) at National Sea Grant Week. This award recognizes the Florida Friendly Fishing Guide (FFFG) and Florida Friendly Angler (FFA) courses for promoting sustainable fishing practices and honoring outstanding leadership, teamwork, and outreach impact by Sea Grant extension personnel.
Florida’s red snapper season opened June 1, and with it came the release of a new tool to help anglers sustain the species’ population for years to come: a Spanish-language edition of Return ‘Em Right’s online education module.
Locally-Sourced Products
Florida Sea Grant’s collaboration with partners across the state has led to innovation of new and improved tools and products.
“The scallop sorter was born like 2 or 3 years ago when a group of different stakeholders were discussing their concern of harvesting really small scallops.”
– Victor Blanco
- Scallop sorters: Now in its third year of distribution, this innovative tool for measuring scallop sizes to promote sustainable harvesting saw significant growth in popularity, with approximately 4,000 distributed this year. An additional 200 sorters were shared during the Florida Association of Counties Annual Conference, engaging government officials statewide. This year, the tool featured a new orange-and-blue design for enhanced visibility in the water. To support its widespread demand, the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) funded and printed over 10,000 sorters, generously donating them to the Steinhatchee Chamber of Commerce.
- Salty Urbanism: Florida Sea Grant supported an interdisciplinary team at Florida Atlantic University to create a design manual for South Florida urban landscapes that focuses on innovative, nature-based solutions to sea-level rise and climate-driven flooding. This effort and the forthcoming manual were christened “Salty Urbanization” which was published this year.
- Oceanography, Volume 37: Florida Sea Grant contributed six stories to the Oceanography Society’s quarterly magazine. Our program represented the highest number of contributors, including 13 different authors. Every article submitted had to go through a competitive review process, and showcased collaboration among the Florida Sea Grant network.
All Hands on Deck
This year, many new faces and talents joined the Florida Sea Grant team. Programs like Clean Boating now have coordinators in every region of the state, advancing efforts to improve pumpout operations at Florida marinas and promote sustainable boating practices. Additionally, Florida Sea Grant has expanded its presence along the Gulf Coast with new UF/IFAS extension agents. Pasco County welcomed its very first Florida Sea Grant extension agent, and Okaloosa County now has a dedicated agent, instead of one shared between Walton and Okaloosa counties.
Other additions to our team include water quality and coral coordinators, as well as new members of our administration team. Visit our staff directory page to learn more about these exciting new additions.
