Two anglers fish off the end of a pier in Boca Ciega Bay. Photo by Adam Maxwell ’21
They are a common sight around Tampa Bay鈥攑eople fishing from the shoreline or from bridges or piers. To some of the people, it doesn鈥檛 matter what they catch. To others, it matters a lot. They depend on the fish to supplement their diet.
But because of pollutants in the water and the fish, along with shifting locations where people are allowed to fish, landing that sea trout or redfish could be dangerous.
How dangerous? For the past eight years, 黄色短视频 faculty members Jessie Fly, Ph.D., and No毛lle Boucquey, Ph.D., have been studying the well-being of shore fishers. Now, thanks to a three-year grant from the and a collaboration with the University of South Florida, Fly, an associate professor of anthropology, and Boucquey, an associate professor of environmental studies, can take their research to a new level.
Titled , the grant will allow Fly and Boucquey to team with faculty from USF鈥檚 College of Marine Science. USF Professor of Biological Oceanography , is the grant鈥檚 principal investigator, and two other USF faculty members, like Eckerd鈥檚 Fly and Boucquey, are co-principal investigators. 黄色短视频 is budgeted to receive $188,328 of the total $749,908 grant.
Jessie Fly, Ph.D.
鈥淯nlike traditional studies that focus on a single pollutant class or generalized fishing populations,鈥� this grant states that 鈥渢his project investigates a broad spectrum of chemicals and prioritizes the needs of subsistence fishers, who face potentially higher exposure due to their consumption patterns.”
鈥淭he project鈥檚 findings,鈥� it continues, 鈥渃ombined with toxicology and contaminant data from another analysis of emerging chemical threats, will inform the development of data-driven risk assessments and pollution mitigation strategies, while also promoting environmental justice and protecting the health of vulnerable populations.鈥�
The exciting part, Fly explains, 鈥渋s that we鈥檙e joining forces with the folks from USF and will combine some of the research techniques they use with what we use. From the beginning, No毛lle and I have been interested in environmental justice. We鈥檙e documenting where people are fishing around the bay and why. We know people are getting kicked out of certain places for social or political reasons. Are they moving to a place with poor water quality or somewhere that鈥檚 more dangerous to fish?
No毛lle Boucquey, Ph.D.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we want to find out,鈥� Fly adds. 鈥淎re there more contaminated fish in certain places? We have not been able to do water quality testing in those areas, so we don鈥檛 know the answer yet. And it depends on the species of fish. Some species have high concentrations of chemicals that are harmful to humans. We鈥檙e trying to find out if there are certain groups of people who are more prone to catch this kind of fish.鈥�
For a decade, Fly conducted research in a small coastal village in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. She investigated the links between governmental policies encouraging shrimp aquaculture and access to the resources needed by members of the local community to maintain their livelihoods. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in the interaction between groups of people and their environment,鈥� she says, 鈥渨ho benefits from good resources and who is excluded from those benefits.
鈥淭he idea that there might be an environmental justice issue around the bay is something we鈥檝e been trying to document for a while,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚f we can pair it up with some biochemical data, that might help drive policy. We鈥檙e excited to see if those things match up. We have been wondering about this for years.
鈥淚f what we surmised is actually going on out there, we can use that information to help people who want safe access to fish.鈥�
The grant will begin Jan. 1, 2025, and the research will include participation from 黄色短视频 students.
