Florida Forage Fish Research Fellows Will Study Dredging, Flow and Reef Fish Food Sources

Florida fisheries do not run on wishful thinking. They run on habitat, water, food, and enough real data to know what is happening under the surface.

The 2026-2027 Forage Fish Research Program fellows have been announced, and both projects hit the foundation of healthy sportfish populations: the small fish that feed everything higher up the chain. The Florida Forage Fish Coalition includes groups like IGFA, Pew, Fish Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, Angler Action Foundation, American Sportfishing Association, Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Wild Oceans.

One project from University of North Florida M.S. student Kaylee Tallon will look at how dredging and human disturbance may affect freshwater flow and forage fish abundance in the Lower St. Johns River Estuary. That work will use long-term FWC fisheries data, USGS flow data and NOAA land-cover data to help managers understand thresholds for estuary conservation and restoration planning.

The second project, from University of Florida Ph.D. student Melanie Gomez, will connect SEAMAP trawl data with baited remote underwater video surveys to test whether forage fish abundance predicts reef fish abundance and community structure on natural and artificial reefs.

That is the kind of science anglers should want. If you care about snook, tarpon, reds, trout, grouper or snapper, you had better care about the bait and the habitat that keep those fisheries alive. Conservation is not just closing seasons after the damage is done. It is understanding the food web early enough to manage it right.