Environment

Beneath a cloak of darkness, illuminated only by glow sticks and red-filtered flashlights, researchers waited underwater off Key Largo hoping to witness one of the rarest events of sex in the sea.

More than a decade after the oyster industry collapsed in Northwest Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, state wildlife officials gave preliminary approval Thursday to reopen some oyster reefs for harvesting in January, with plans to start a recurring seasonal harvest later in 2026.

For the first time since 2015, Florida will reopen black bear hunting.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will take up a final vote Wednesday on proposed rules for a regulated bear hunt.

State wildlife officials could allow oyster harvesting in part of Northwest Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, where the fishery collapsed more than a decade ago and continues to struggle to recover.

A brief contends the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — not the Department of Environmental Protection — is constitutionally responsible for wildlife-related issues.

Pennywise, weighing 302 pounds, was deemed healthy and strong enough to return to the wild Wednesday after being treated by Loggerhead Marinelife Center's veterinary team over the past few months.

Elkhorn coral babies, affectionately called "Flonduran" corals by researchers at the Rosenstiel School at the University of Miami, were planted in Biscayne Bay on July 1. This is the first time internationally crossbred corals have ever been planted in wild reefs.

Escambia County records first sea turtle hatching of the season on Perdido Key, with 106 loggerhead hatchlings successfully making their way to the gulf.

To find the true culprit, Tomasko's team is deploying DNA-based tracking methods across four locations five times this summer — including areas of Palma Sola Bay where horseback riding and swimming regularly occur.