Newsroom: Biscayne Bay

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In August 2020, Biscayne Bay went into respiratory distress. High water temperatures coupled with lots of phosphorous nearly killed our bay. Hundreds of fish and marine life dead. It was an ecosystem’s cry for help.

For decades, FIU has led research initiatives on water, including the health of Biscayne Bay. Last spring, the university proposed a new initiative for a comprehensive monitoring network to identify potential problems before they become crises.

When dead fish started popping up in August, FIU research teams of students and faculty responded immediately, deploying special autonomous surface vessels to measure temperature, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll to better understand what was happening and what was needed to stop it. They worked with local officials to help re-oxygenate the bay. Their work continues as the bay continues to show signs of an ecosystem in trouble.

Biscayne Bay needs saving, FIU has the expertise and the will to give a lifeline to this tropical lagoon that is ecologically and economically essential to Miami.

Downloadable Resources

Please credit FIU unless otherwise noted.


Experts

FIU scientists provided quick answers in those early days of the fish kill. In total, our experts appeared in nearly 200 media reports about the alarming conditions in Biscayne Bay.

Browse our Biscayne Bay experts or contact us for media relations assistance.


Photos

Please credit FIU College of Arts, Sciences & Education unless otherwise noted.

Browse Biscayne Bay photos

News

  • Up Close: Tom Frankovich
    September 27, 2021
    By Sajida Malik At the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, we’re training the next generation of changemakers.
  • CASE takes top prizes
    June 21, 2021
    FIU received global recognition by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for communications projects
  • Saving Biscayne Bay
    September 9, 2020
    The unprecedented fish kills and algal blooms recently seen in Biscayne Bay have brought up many questions to locals
  • Biscayne Bay at a critical tipping point
    August 25, 2020
    Scientists in the FIU Institute of Environment were first to respond to the unprecedented fish kills and algal blooms

Contact Us

Nathalie Medina
305-348-7678
nmedina@fiu.edu

Angela Nicoletti
305-348-4493
anicolet@fiu.edu

Christine Calvo
305-348-9987
chcalvo@fiu.edu