Fishery management

The pelagic longline fishery is responsible for significant mortality to sea turtles as a
result of foul hooking, entanglement in the lines, and internal injury after consuming the
baited hook. Bait, gear and lights (used to attract the target fishes to the baits at night) are
three variables that could also attract sea turtles to the lines. This study tests the role of
the lights in attracting leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles and compares their
behavior to the loggerhead (Caretta carelta), shown in previous studies to orient toward
both lightsticks and battery powered LEDs used in the fishery. The same lights were
used in experiments done on leatherbacks reared at Florida Atlantic University's Marine
Laboratory. The leatherbacks were exposed to the lights at night when they were
between 5 and 42 days old. The results show that leatherbacks, unlike loggerheads, either do not orient toward the lights or orient away from them at an angle that enabled
the turtles to keep the light in their peripheral field cf view. Thus, the capture of
leatherbacks in longlines is probably a consequence of other factors (such as attraction to
the odor of the baits, or to natural prey located near the Iines) that need to be investigated
through future research. The results also show that efforts to reduce the incidental capture
and injury of marine turtles in longlines must be based upon a firm understanding of the
similarities, as well as the differences, between turtle species.

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishery was at an all time low on Lake Okeechobee when experimental supplemental stockings were done to try and enhance local bass populations. Largemouth bass had never been stocked on a large lake like Lake Okeechobee. The objectives were to develop a methodology, study dispersal, and compare stocked versus wild bass habitat choices. The methodology underwent considerable changes between studies. Bass dispersed to the edges by the second sampling period, so a larger sampling area may be needed. Water depth and pH were found to be significantly different between wild and stocked bass. Hatchery bass are naèive about predators, which may have resulted in stocked bass not moving to shallower areas like wild bass. The pH was weakly correlated with depth, so differences may be partially due to the fact that as depth increases, pH may also increase.