Fisheries-Independent Monitoring

Monitoring Florida’s Saltwater Fish and Invertebrates

Proper management of Florida’s marine fisheries resources requires information from numerous sources. Fisheries-dependent data are collected directly from the fisheries themselves (Recreational and Commercial) and fisheries-independent data are collected outside of the fishery usually in the form of scientific surveys or monitoring. The Fisheries-Independent Monitoring program (“FIM” for short) collects data on hundreds of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit Florida’s riverine, estuarine, and coastal reef habitats. This includes monitoring abundance trends of important fish and invertebrate species over time, defining seasonal and spatial trends, and habitat preference of key species. It is FIM’s mission to provide timely and valuable data for use in the management and conservation of Florida’s diverse fishery resources.