Lyons Bay

The Florida manatee, or sea cow (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a subspecies of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), is a large, herbivorous, aquatic mammal that can be found in the shallow coastal waters, rivers, and springs of Florida and adjoining states. These gentle creatures are endangered throughout their range. High annual mortality, primarily associated with human activity, as well as a low reproductive rate and loss of habitat continue to keep the number of manatees low and threaten the species' future. Learn more about manatees »

Year	Total - Current Bay	Total - All Bays
1985	0	495
1986	3	641
1987	4	517
1988	0	1578
1989	0	997
1990	0	922
1991	1	1217
1992	1	952
1993	1	1096
1994	11	954
1995	1	1677
1996	6	1785
1997	3	1558
1998	4	956
1999	0	908
2000	25	1054
2001	3	800
2002	0	456
2003		610
2004		666
2005	10	666
2006	1	586
2007	12	570
2008	3	1074
2009	4	1101

Manatee Aerial Survey Information: Total Manatees Counted per Year in Lyons Bay Compared to the Total of All Bays

Source(s): MOTE Marine Laboratory

Some common birds in this region that you might see include - Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, White Ibis, Brown Pelican, Osprey, Wood Stork, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, Bald Eagles and the threatened Florida Scrub-jay.

Audubon Christmas Bird Count Data for Water Dependent, Threatened, and Endangered Birds

More than 50,000 observers participate each year in this all-day census of early-winter bird populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology, representing over a century of unbroken data on trends of early-winter bird populations across the Americas. Simply put, the Christmas Bird Count, or "CBC", is citizen science in action.

The table below demonstrates the average number of birds seen per hour of effort put forth to view them. The historic average is the average of the total number of birds seen per hour of effort divided by the number of years listed in the brackets.

Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas

This site provides access to the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas data recorded by volunteers from 1986 - 1991. The surveys occurred in all 67 counties which were divided into 1028, 7.5 minutes topographic quadrangles. Each quadrangle was further divided into 6 (2 wide by 3 tall) equal-sized blocks of about 10 miles² of which about 75% (4,866) were surveyed. The website DEP's quadrangle locator may be used to find the name of a quadrangle for locations in Florida. For each species, a breeding code indicating the "highest" breeding evidence was recorded.

• Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas

Visual Surveys are used to estimate relative abundance and to monitor the size and class distribution of important fish species. The Fisheries-Independent Monitoring program (FIM) conducts stratified-random sampling to estimate fish abundance and population trends in seven regions around Florida. Visit the FIM site (below) to learn how studies are performed and what they reveal, learn more about fish species, and see images of these species. Learn More about Fisheries Independent Monitoring »

• Fisheries Independent Monitoring Program
  

Fishery-dependent data, collected directly from people who harvest aquatic species, is used to monitor harvest rates and assess the health of exploited fish and invertebrate populations. Learn More about Fisheries Dependent Monitoring »

Commercial Fisheries Landings in Florida

Commercial fisheries include any species that are harvested and sold for human consumption, for medical use, in aquarium or souvenir trades, or for any other for-profit purpose. The state of Florida collects data from commercial harvesters and dealers to generate statistics on the types of species and quantities landed as well as the size, weight, and age distribution of harvested species.

2011
County	Fin Fish		Invertebrates		Food Shrimp		Bait Shrimp		Grand Total
	Lbs.	Trips	Lbs.	Trips	Lbs.	Trips	Lbs.	Trips	Lbs.	Trips
Bay	2,958,481	1,648	111,312	998	246,774	496	4,718	63	0	0
Brevard	1,702,976	4,724	637,739	3,631	1,638,309	126	10	1	0	0
Broward	591,264	1,688	302,677	594	150	1	0	0	0	0
Charlotte	681,126	1,474	521,172	1,407	3,213	42	2,937	89	0	0
Citrus	361,842	776	831,699	3,431	4,586	13	304,037	2,034	0	0
Clay	84	1	367,364	949	0	0	0	0	0	0
Collier	457,860	366	619,094	3,145	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dixie	502,268	923	1,068,582	1,779	177	1	3,640	46	0	0
Duval	1,243,443	2,512	595,885	2,262	5,198,940	1,742	10,041	186	0	0
Escambia	1,138,037	1,950	141,738	719	234,682	189	0	0	0	0
Flagler	2,322	12	22,074	10	28,002	7	0	0	0	0
Franklin	958,460	1,379	2,090,555	31,187	722,814	620	2,433	14	0	0
Gulf	6,589,311	990	74,608	133	382,096	94	64,441	1,418	0	0
Hernando	355,497	237	225,757	450	76,593	694	373,504	3,566	0	0
Hillsborough	677,146	1,371	269,732	1,725	1,299,605	82	3,395	33	0	0
Indian River	848,493	3,033	6,466	71	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jefferson	3,165	10	19,563	38	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lee	1,601,904	4,609	951,492	5,161	3,424,022	332	85,607	1,677	0	0
Levy	76,303	95	746,410	2,697	80,559	413	2,531	40	0	0
Manatee	4,019,413	1,675	83,510	503	2,296	2	11,010	130	0	0
Martin	2,187,771	6,951	48,697	334	0	0	0	0	0	0
Miami-Dade	560,352	1,797	508,875	2,101	310,358	687	161,927	1,735	0	0
Monroe	4,758,255	9,488	5,261,094	18,485	684,048	110	14,725	155	0	0
Nassau	36,096	196	81,841	219	1,050,617	215	8,330	184	0	0
Okaloosa	1,592,108	1,867	19,566	154	21,145	73	711	6	0	0
Palm Beach	2,086,325	8,257	53,320	479	1,547	8	0	0	0	0
Pasco	128,690	173	68,263	499	256,738	9	116,073	1,177	0	0
Pinellas	4,608,910	4,413	354,466	2,735	1,040,231	75	40,622	512	0	0
Putnam	0	0	589,206	1,745	400	2	0	0	0	0
Santa Rosa	92,632	249	27,278	433	3,009	22	41	1	0	0
Sarasota	20,731	73	34,007	435	0	0	0	0	0	0
Taylor	198,489	521	1,496,008	542	0	0	60,899	539	0	0
Volusia	965,249	1,970	299,122	2,587	62,855	38	40,922	677	0	0
Wakulla	461,018	966	1,166,863	2,768	30,440	55	0	0	0	0
Walton	20,564	121	16,316	59	2,213	13	0	0	0	0

Source: Commercial Landings Data

• View additional Commercial Fisheries Landings data from Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey

The Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) was developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to monitor recreational fisheries. The MRFSS is designed to collect a variety of data in order to estimate catch, harvest, and fishing effort.

Species	2002		2003		2004		2005		2006
SPOT	64		18.8		114.2		73.3		59.1
RED DRUM	35.5		53.3		69		112.9		40.3
WEAKFISH	82.1		92.9		34.9		30.5		129
BLACK DRUM	50.6		74.8		67.4		70.2		72.9
FLORIDA POMPANO	79.5		76.3		67.7		84.7		27.5
GREATER AMBERJACK	43.9		21.2		28.9		25.8		30
MULLETS	112.6		149		131.3		33.9		45
SHEEPSHEAD	90.3		64.9		19.7		91.5		78.1
BLUEFISH	38.3		36.3		51.1		42.8		46
DOLPHINS	140.5		73.7		75		108.7		75
RED SNAPPER	22.8		25.4		22		24.8		30.8
VERMILION SNAPPER	90.7		88.6		99.5		101.2		32.6
YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER	65.4		75.7		65.1		55.8		60.5
SALTWATER CATFISHES	31.4		37.5		102.4		42.7		35.2
GULF FLOUNDER	40.7		38.4		65.4		40.7		24.8
SUMMER FLOUNDER	25.2		30.3		27.6		31.5		38.3
SOUTHERN FLOUNDER	17.8		19.6		18.6		19		82.9
BLACK SEA BASS	56.5		47.9		51.3		63.8		68.5
EPINEPHELUS GROUPERS	73		49.3		69		105.7		101
MYCTEROPERCA GROUPERS	25.1		96		22.1		23.7		23.8
STRIPED BASS	51.8		80.4		30.4		131.5		34.5
KING MACKEREL	48.2		39.2		64.6		168.6		165.4
SPANISH MACKEREL	78.6		42		64.1		55.9		104.7
ATLANTIC MACKEREL	101.9		57.2		36.7		67.5		18.2
SKATES/RAYS	147.8		208.5		152.1		74.4		189.3
OTHER SHARKS	154.5		74.5		30.7		113.1		104.2

Source: Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics

• View additional data from the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey

The Charlotte Harbor region is known worldwide for its superb fishing. It supports a wide array of fish and crustaceans such as Red Drum, Spotted Seatrout, Snook, Flounder, Blue Crab, Pompano, Mullet, Stone Crab and Shrimp. More than 80 percent of the fish we catch for food or fun depend on estuaries for all or part of their lives. Learn more about fisheries. »

Species Information for Common Fish Caught on Florida's West Coast

Information from FWRI about commercially and recreational important finfish. Includes: stock assessments, species accounts, regulations, and other research studies.

•  Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis)
•  Dolphin (Coryphaena hippurus)
•  Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)
•  Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)
•  Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio)
•  Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)
•  Striped Mullet (Mugil cephalus)
•  Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)

Bottlenose dolphins are common along the central west coast of Florida, including Sarasota Bay and surrounding waters. Long-term studies by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, initiated by Mote Marine Laboratory in 1970, and continuing today in conjunction with the Chicago Zoological Society, are monitoring a resident community of four generations of dolphins in Sarasota Bay. Learn more about dolphins »

Source(s): Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

The dolphins using Sarasota Bay have been monitored since the 1970's. Mark-recapture estimates in 1976 and 1983 (shown on the graph) indicated that about 100 dolphins were present on a regular basis. Since 1984, intensive efforts to monitor recognizable individual dolphins have produced the census numbers shown in this graph. The data from 1984 through 2003 show numbers of identifiable individuals recognized during any given year -- it should be noted that this is not the same as a population estimate because it does not include the non-identifiable individuals using the bay. Most, but not all, dolphins in the bay are individually-distinctive from dorsal fin features. Increases from 1984 through about 1990 likely reflect improvements in scientists' abilities to identify dolphins, more than increases in numbers of dolphins present. Subsequent increases since the mid-1990's likely indicate actual changes in the population, with several record years of calf production (as shown in graph), some cases of immigration, and several individuals from Tampa Bay who have developed a pattern of seasonal residency. Increases since the mid-1990's correlate with presumed fish stock increases since the net ban, but cause-effect relationships have not been conclusively established. Also indicated in the graph is the number of known deaths (as documented through recovery of carcasses by the Mote Marine Lab Stranding Investigations Program) and losses of first-year calves. Other dolphins are lost but not recovered.

• View a chart of the age/sex distribution of Sarasota Bay dolphins in 2007