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Yellowfin donates boat to Mote Marine laboratory

The 36-footer will be a long-range research vessel for a number of projects
mote yellowfin

mote yellowfin

Yellowfin Yachts has donated a 36-foot Yellowfin to Mote Marine Laboratory, for a particularly fast, fuel-efficient, long-range research vessel. According to Capt. Dean Dougherty with Mote, some of the research projects and programs that Mote plans for the new research boat include:

  • Whale shark Satellite Tagging Program, currently Mote has tagged over 200 whale sharks w/ high vis. tags and 20 satellite tags, allowing scientists to monitor long range patterns over time……this project is in the gulf of Mexico off Cancun(Isla Mujeres) and Florida.

  • Offshore collecting for Mote and other large public aquarium including Georgia Aquarium and the National Aquarium in Baltimore including sharks , rays, snappers, groupers, jacks, etc

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  • Cetacean (dolphin) acoustic cruises; towing a series of hydro-phones and recording dolphin language and their ability to echo locate and mimic other dolphins. This project is funded by Univ. of South Florida (USF).

  • Offshore spawning migrations of tarpon; project headed by Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT)

  • Collection of live specimen of greater amberjack for the purpose of aquaculture, health and reproductive biology assessment. This project will be partnered with the Univ. Of Maryland.

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  • Center of Aquatic Toxicology research including periodic offshore water sampling and maintenance of buoy fixed Breve Busters.

  • Used to deploy and recover autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV); USF w/ 6, Mote w/ 3, Rutgers Univ.w/ 28, Dept of Defense(Navy) has just ordered 100 AUV; Mote has deployed and recovered for all the above.

  • Potential of running to and working in Cuban or Mexican waters from Motes’ Summerland Key Field Station for the new Trinational Initiative for Marine Science and Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean.

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  • Offshore Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact of subsurface oil.

  • Mote’s Center for Shark Research projects including periodic shark population studies, whale shark and mako tagging and assessing potential oil spill impacts to offshore shark fisheries

  • Mote Research Charters: charters allowing paying clients to participate in and help support offshore fisheries project. Trips include; shark, permit, red snapper, tarpon and Goliath grouper tagging programs.

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  • USF’s acoustic recorder deployment and recovery, deep offshore site require tri-mix diving to recover recorders. These recorders are used to establish grouper habitat, dolphin interaction at grouper locations. Currently 85 recorders have been deployed, recovered and deployed again.

  • Fast response to cetacean strandings for marine mammal stranding network including reintroduction of rehabilitated animals to offshore waters.

  • This vessel will be on the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) and USF ready list. This list allows FIO and USF to block a certain number of available boat days with out scheduling conflicts.

  • Diving excursions to offshore coral reefs (Pulley Ridge), springs and Marine Protected Areas.

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