Kai Lorenzen's Integrative Fisheries Science Lab at University of Florida

08/23/2022

Reviving my facebook.... wait... has it been three years?

04/30/2019

Dr. Havens was the University of Florida's go-to scientist on everything from the 2010 oil spill to last year's blue-green algae bloom.

04/29/2019

Karl was a great friend and colleague who led Florida Sea Grant with vision, skill and integrity under conditions that were not always easy. A great scientist, forever inquisitive, and a great photographic artist, too. I miss him dearly. Rest in Peace, Karl.

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden and tragic passing of Dr. Karl Havens, the director of our Florida Sea Grant program and professor of aquatic ecology in the UF / IFAS School of Forest Resources & Conservation - sfrc at the University of Florida.

Karl was named our director in 2007. In his professional career, he had more than 35 years of experience in aquatic research, education and outreach, and published over 160 peer-reviewed journal articles. Most recently he has collaborated with international scientists to write papers about the expected synergistic effects of climate change and eutrophication on lakes and estuaries, the future of controlling toxic algal blooms in the face of climate change, and the role that nitrogen pollution plays in stimulating toxic blue-green algae blooms.

He was a recipient of the Edward Deevey, Jr. Award from the Florida Lake Management Society for his research dealing with Florida lakes. He was a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that evaluates progress on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. He was also a member of the board of directors for the Florida Ocean Alliance and the Florida Institute of Oceanography.

When disasters struck our coastal environment, Karl acted quickly to bring high-quality University of Florida science to the recovery efforts. At UF, he has served as Chair of the UF Oil Spill Task Force, the UF Oyster Recovery Team, and the UF/IFAS Toxic Algae Task Force. He was a champion of using aerial photography and GIS technology to pinpoint the locations of tens of thousands of commercial lobster traps displaced by Hurricane Irma.

Through social media, many have come to know Karl as a photography enthusiast who enjoyed taking unique photos and sharing them with others. He painted several works of abstract works of art, and exhibited at the Hippodrome Theatre Gallery in 2016. Of late, Karl and his Photography with Classic Lenses Facebook community engaged in podcasts that were avidly listened to by amateur and professional photographers around the globe.

Karl’s infinite curiosity for the natural world and his command of science inspired all of us in the Sea Grant family. He encouraged us to explore alongside him by organizing office adventure days to coastal locations. We will miss him dearly.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time. We will continue to update our page as more information becomes available. Please keep Karl’s family, especially his wife Pam and son Andy in your thoughts and prayers during this challenging time.

Many of you have asked where to send cards and flowers. Karl’s wife, Pam, has indicated that in lieu of flowers, she and Karl would prefer donations to the Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida: http://www.dsfflorida.org/Donate_to_Down_Syndrome.html.

04/20/2019

Latest news about our awesome Ph.D. alumna Claudia Friess!

Meet Dr. Claudia Friess!

Claudia earned her PhD in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. She collaborated with researchers at FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute for her dissertation on goliath grouper population dynamics and management.

Claudia is interested in improving the science tools and products in support of conservation and management decisions. She joined Dr. Sue Lowerre-Barbieri's lab as a post-doc in order to help work toward better incorporating fish movement information into existing management frameworks.

In her current role, Claudia is co-leading the 2019 ITag meeting and contributing to the synthesis papers coming out of that meeting. She is also working with red drum movement data in the Tampa Bay area, with the goal to estimate spawning population abundance and evaluate the value of telemetry data for improving stock assessments and management.

You can check out some of Claudia's work on the new iTAG website: http://bit.ly/2KLjnO1

UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
University of Florida Research
UF Marine Sciences Major
UF Marine Biology Club
Florida Sea Grant

02/09/2019

Karen Bell was born and raised in the fishing village of Cortez and comes from a long line of fisherfolk. After attending college on Florida's East Coast, sh...

12/20/2018

The brings greater management flexibility and with that comes greater responsibility for all of us in fisheries. Read the Act https://tinyurl.com/yb3zekjc and check out scientific considerations by AFS http://bit.ly/2EqeF5h

Text for S.1520 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018

12/15/2018

PhD graduation day - big congratulations to Claudia Friess and Susana Hervas Avila!

11/26/2018

Check out Chelsey Crandall's new paper on what motivates anglers to participate in volunteer data programs, and possible avenues for increasing participation

Fisheries Volume 43, Issue 11 Feature How to Bait the Hook: Identifying What Motivates Anglers to Participate in a Volunteer Angler Data Program Chelsey A. Crandall Corresponding Author E-mail address:[email protected] Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, School of Forest Resources and Conservati...

11/08/2018

Big congratulations to Dr. Claudia Friess who defended her dissertation on "Assessing and Managing a Fishery under Moratorium: The Case of the Recovering Goliath Grouper" today! Great work! With Claudia Friess, Luiz Barbieri, Robert Ahrens, Shirley Coleman Baker and Colette St.Mary (not pictured)

10/15/2018

Congratulations to Susana Hervas Avila, who successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation on stakeholder conflicts in the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery today! With Martha Monroe and Alison Adams

09/27/2018

Environmentally sustainable fishing practices are often cast as a choice between healthy fish populations and healthy economies and societies. A new global study led by University of Florida scientists shows that, when managed well, ecologically sound fisheries boost profits and benefit communities....