Marine Ecology

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Marine habitats and organisms are monitored in Everglades National Park using two general approaches. The first is to track gamefish populations based on what fishers are catching: the "creel survey." The creel survey, conducted year-round at Flamingo and in Everglades City, has been in place for more than 30 years and provides essential information about gamefish population trends and the effects of management actions such as catch and size limit restrictions. The second approach is to monitor fish populations and habitat independent of gamefishing catches and allows analysis of trends that are community-wide rather than being limited only to gamefish species. This approach is currently being designed for implementation in Florida Bay and includes monitoring of fish populations and seagrass. Center staff also participate in the monitoring of marine fisheries and coral reef habitats at Dry Tortugas National Park.