Fears confirmed: Florida first state with homegrown Zika virus

THE DAILY FRAY
July 28, 2016 11:20 am
The Florida Department of Health and federal health officials confirm that four Zika cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are the first in the continental United States spread by local mosquitoes. MORE-»

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Federal, global inattention contribute to burst in crisis

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
July 24, 2016 3:37 pm
UPDATED | Rare tropical diseases were always part of South Florida’s scene from time to time. But Zika is an extraordinary health threat — a perplexing mosquito-borne, sexually transmitted illness linked with neurological disorders and seemingly without peer in the insect world, according to scientists and health authorities. Many, though, saw it coming for years. MORE-»

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Florida's health authorities, CDC probing possible 2nd local case of Zika infection

THE DAILY FRAY
July 20, 2016 9:30 am
UPDATED | The health threat of Zika in Florida intensified this week when the state Department of Health said a new investigation was underway into a possible second locally transmitted case involving the grim mosquito-borne illness. MORE-»

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Zika in Florida; spread by mosquitoes, potentially sex

THE DAILY FRAY
January 17, 2016 11:58 am
UPDATED (1/20) | Zika, a debilitating illness spread by mosquitoes and potentially through sex, was confirmed in three Florida patients Tuesday and is producing an extraordinary threat in the Americas, health officials say. “We didn’t feel we could wait,” a scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week. MORE-»

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FWC offers training sessions for potential python hunters

THE DAILY FRAY
August 20, 2015 8:19 am
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering 56 in-person training sessions for the upcoming Python Challenge, which attracted more than 1,600 hunters from around the world in 2013. MORE-»

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South Florida eco-preneurs ready to spring trap on lionfish

THE DAILY FRAY
August 3, 2015 3:00 pm
A new trap that targets lionfish and is also a potential moneymaker for fishermen and restaurants joined Mote Marine Aquarium on a short list for a lucrative eco grant in the inaugural Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge, organizers said. MORE-»

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Everglades, Hendry monkeys: Maybe too close for comfort

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
June 12, 2015 3:15 pm
No one talks much about “Monkey Island” anymore. For a long time Key Lois was getting eaten alive by a colony of rhesus macaques that were living large before shipping out to medical labs. Catered meals. Lush red mangroves. Sex. What could be better? Probably the Everglades, primate experts say. MORE-»

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Mosquito alert: Zika, hurts like dengue, can spread through sex

THE DAILY FRAY
June 9, 2015 5:12 pm
Zika arrived in the Caribbean this week and is definitely not your garden-variety tropical illness caused by mosquitos. Unlike dengue and chikungunya, a person with Zika can spread the disease through sex, health officials say. MORE-»

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Burmese python: Not even traffic can put a dent in vigilant invader

THE DAILY FRAY
April 28, 2015 7:25 pm
Burmese python studies, like Burmese pythons, spread quickly. The latest tracked 19 pythons gadding through the Everglades using radio tags and GPS. Lesson: “There’s no going back on this one,” a national park spokeswoman said. “So what’s the next [invasive species] and can we prevent another species from affecting this pristine ecosystem?” MORE-»

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DEP plan for Cockroach Bay meets approval

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
January 7, 2015 8:00 am
The first public hearing of the Amendment 1 era was held Tuesday night in Ruskin. The subject was a sensitive 10-year management plan for Cockroach Bay Preserve State Park. A feather – ideally from a roseate spoonbill – could have cut the tension. MORE-»

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Cockroach Bay: A new 10-year proposal by DEP

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
December 22, 2014 10:15 am
A 10-year management plan for Cockroach Bay Preserve State Park was given a $30,320 tuneup last week and a chance for less controversy after an earlier version was labeled as too soft on exotic plants. MORE-»

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Monkey's mostly business, primate experts say

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
December 17, 2014 9:00 pm
Go monkey, go. The feral freedom fighter remains in hiding, presumably in the Tampa Bay area, a fledgling outlaw that lit up emergency switchboards Thanksgiving Day. Is the monkey hungry, thirsty? Does the monkey need any help? Is the monkey playing it smart? MORE-»

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For Florida's exotics, it doesn't get any wilder

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
November 23, 2014 12:00 pm
Exotic pets in Florida fit into two categories: the known and the all-too-well-known. Sometimes there’s the unknown. The nonnative animal invasion was going strong in 2006 when the Exotic Pet Amnesty Program was formed. FWC workers roll around the state like a traveling zoo absorb an eye-popping menagerie of ecological evil-doers. MORE-»

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FWC plans 'Guardians' assault in lionfish fight

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
November 16, 2014 5:14 pm
When the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gathers for a summit Nov. 20-21 in Key Largo, lionfish, manatee protection measures in Pinellas County, and red snapper will be on the hotlist. MORE-»

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Gigantic lionfish takes it on the fin in Sarasota spearfishing event

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
September 28, 2014 11:02 pm
Chris Shaffer was diving off Sarasota at a depth of 130 feet. His equipment included a Kudana speargun, custom-designed in polished Burmese teak by local craftsman Stuart Daneman. And like most divers in the third Suncoast Spearfishing Challenge at Marina Jack this past weekend, Shaffer was aiming mostly for grouper, hogfish and mangrove snapper, anything big. “I didn’t want it next to me, I can tell you that,” said Shaffer, 45, from Sarasota. MORE-»

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