Abstract:
This report describes project activities from December 28, 2001 through June 15, 2002 by FWC Florida Marine Research Institute in partnership with Mote Marine Laboratory Center for Fisheries Enhancement. The study involved implanting acoustic tags on a small number of hatchery-reared sub-adult Gulf sturgeon released into the tidal and freshwater reaches of the Hillsborough River. This was an ideal tool to provide information regarding survival, real-time movement, habitat preferences, and preferred environmental conditions. Data obtained will provide information for implementing effective threatened species management measures, and allow conservation decisions to be made based on the use of hatchery-reared stocks in the Hillsborough River system and Tampa Bay estuary.
