YELLOW STINGRAY Urobatis jamaicensis Also know as Yellow Spotted Stingray. They inhabit shallow inshore waters, where they are typically found foraging in sandy or muddy flats near coral reefs or rocky formations. They utilize sandy flats and areas of sea grass in order to forage for small crustaceans and mollusks, while also using the deep sand and sea … Read more
A Wonderful Bird Is The Pelican A wonderful bird is the pelican His bill can hold more than his belican He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I’m damned if I see how the helican by Dixon Lanier Merritt Did you know that a pelican’s pouch can hold up to … Read more
After a several-year hiatus, state fishery managers will again address the topic of reopening the Goliath grouper fishery. The fishery was closed in 1990 due to extreme overfishing. Next month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hear a presentation from fishery biologists and will begin to discuss possibly opening up the fishery to a … Read more
Few want to publicly talk about killing iguanas, yet it’s a common practice. Iguana hunting on private property — whether your own or someone else’s with explicit permission — is perfectly legal in the Florida Keys with a few caveats. “You can kill it, but it has to be quick and immediate,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay … Read more
The lone resident American Crocodile at Fort Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas, has been there for almost two decades, according to National Park Service rangers. There were fewer than 200 when the American Crocodile was listed as endangered on the federal Endangered Species List in the 1970s. Now it is estimated there may … Read more
There are many different types of fish found on the reefs near our shores. Some of them are difficult to see and even more difficult to identify. There are a few fish that are easy to spot and are familiar to many people, even visitors that have never been to the Florida Keys. Stingray is … Read more
The normally red-hot Florida Keys spiny lobster fishery in South Florida seems to be cooling off this season, or at least Asian buyers seem to becoming more shrewd about the lucrative market. Spiny lobster is the Florida Keys’ most profitable commercial fishery, generating more than $50 million a year directly to the local economy. “Prices … Read more
The main difference between the Florida Keys Spiny Lobster and the American or Maine Lobster are the front claws. American / Maine lobsters have large front claws. Florida Keys Spiny Lobsters do not. Clawed lobsters are known as cold water lobsters, while Florida lobsters are known as warm water lobsters. Florida lobsters are caught for … Read more
There are many fishing regulations taking effect January 1. Below are some that affect Florida Keys Fishing from the FWC. Seasonal grouper closure starts Jan. 1 in Atlantic, Monroe County waters Several species of grouper will close to recreational and commercial harvest starting Jan. 1 in Florida state waters of the Atlantic, including Monroe County. … Read more
Assorted Florida Keys Sea Creatures seen while diving a few Ledges off Key Largo, FL – Dec 2016 – Video by Peter Bonacum. Can you name them?
From Caribbean-like aquamarine waters to a friendly, island life attitude, the Florida Keys never fail to surprise first-time visitors. We love the food, rum, nightlife and sunsets, but were also charmed by the abundance of wildlife and the beaches (who says there’s no beaches in the Keys?). The Keys manage to deliver the tropical vacations … Read more
As a backup plan to prevent species extinction, a federal agency has started harvesting reproductive organs from dead Key deer. The animals, only found in the Lower Keys, suffered a heavy blow to their population over the last few months from the flesh-eating New World screwworm. While the screwworm eradication effort has prompted the release … Read more
Published on Dec 4, 2016 A close encounter with several endangered Key Deer on Florida’s Big Pine Key. They are very tame. We never fed any of these animals. We stayed in the house for 10 days and I think they just grew accustomed to us. It got to the point where they would walk … Read more
A comprehensive book, written by a longtime Sanibel resident, which sheds light on the Florida American crocodile, has hit the shelves a month early.Author Charles LeBuff will sign copies of his book Florida’s Crocodile: Biology and History of a Threatened Species from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at MacIntosh Books and Paper, … Read more
The number of Key deer deaths due to New World screwworm infestation has remained stable at 132 for more than a week; however, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials are remaining diligent with protection measures to save this endangered species. The screwworm outbreak has increased the normal mortality rate within the small population of … Read more
Miami resident Juan Mallen took top honors at the annual Stone Crab Eating Contest Saturday in the Florida Keys. Mallen, a 49-year-old commercial appliance technician, cracked and ate 25 stone crab claws in 12 minutes and 54 seconds, besting the old record by more than two minutes. He has been trying to win the contest … Read more
The beautifully marked Caribbean Spiny Lobster has long been a Florida seafood favorite and is arguably one of the state’s most important fisheries. Thousands of harvesters flock to the Florida Keys each year during the sport and regular season to experience some of the best lobstering in the world. Many divers, like the one in … Read more
The fearsome screwworm is back. Federal officials have identified a small outbreak of the insect, also known as the New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax), in a population of deer and possibly some pets in Big Pine Key, Florida. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed that the pest … Read more
During the summer of 2015, we joined our queen conch researchers for a day of surveying in the Florida Keys! FWC’s queen conch research program has been surveying queen conch throughout the Florida Keys since 1987, and they perform yearly surveys in order to determine trends in the recovery of Florida’s queen conch population. We … Read more
All signs point to the ongoing Florida Keys Sea Turtle nesting season as a loggerhead baby bonanza. “This season has seen some of the highest nesting counts in the Keys in a number of years,” Sue Schaf, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Friday. “In general, it’s been great.” “In … Read more