April 23, 2014 — ROFFS™ is requesting that all sightings of bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico be reported to the office (fish7@roffs.com or 800-677-7633) as our NASA – NOAA research project's research cruise studying the reproductive biology of highly migratory species will take place during the last week of April through the end of May. This study involves defining the spawning habitats and non-spawning of several fish species including bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, billfish (swordfish, sailfish, marlin) in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding seas.
Once the habitat models are refined, we will evaluate the varying effects of changing temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels, as well as, other aspects of circulation and their habitat over the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic Ocean through regional and global scale biogeochemical models being developed for the next 100 years. This research involves oceanographers from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (Miami Lab. and Pascagoula Lab.), NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, University of Miami, University of South Florida, University of South Carolina, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Roffer of ROFFS™ is the lead Principal Investigator on this four year project.
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