Bonefish study: Population fairly stable

U.S. marine biologists said the fifth annual bonefish population census in the Florida Keys has determined the population remains fairly stable.

As long as the numbers (of fish) aren't drastically different from year to year, it means that our methods for measuring the bonefish population are working, and that the resource appears to be sustainable, said Professor Jerry Ault of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Seventy-two teams joined the late October effort, spread across four regions (Biscayne, Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys) from Key Biscayne to the Marquesas. During the survey, bonefish sightings were recorded and reported directly to Ault's team at the Rosenstiel School.

The 2006 census indicated a fishable population of more than 382,000, while the 2007 findings suggested a very slight decrease in that number estimated at 364,000 bonefish throughout the Florida Keys.

Bonefish bring in roughly $1 billion annually in tourism to the Florida economy, which factored down ends up being $75,000 per fish over its lifetime, Ault said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International