USM Center for Fisheries Research and Development

09/24/2026

Join us this Saturday for GCRL's Open House! See all the research and goings on happening at "The Lab"!

When: September 25 from 10am to 2pm

Join us at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory for our big annual Open House this Saturday, September 26, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Come experience one of our favorite events of the year! Whether you’re curious about marine life, coastal research, or just looking for a fun and educational day by the water, there’s something for everyone.

We hope to see you there!

09/11/2026

WOMEN ON THE WATER PANELIST SPOTLIGHT

We’re excited to welcome Tiffany Weidner to our Women on the Water Panel at the Reel Her In Women’s Fishing Tournament!

Tiffany is a Senior Research Associate with CFRD at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory campus. She brings valuable research experience, knowledge of Gulf fisheries, and a passion for the waters and marine life that make our Coast so special. 🐟

Our Women on the Water Panel is about more than fishing. It gives women a place to learn, connect, feel represented, and discover the many opportunities available on and around the water.

That connects directly to the mission behind Reel Her In: bringing women together through fishing while opening conversations about mental health, su***de prevention, and recovery and reminding every woman that she never has to navigate difficult waters alone. 💜🩵

Join us September 26 from 1–2 PM at The Bayou Restaurant & Tiki Bar to hear Tiffany and the other inspiring women on our panel share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives.

Help us give Tiffany a warm Reel Her In welcome! 💗⚓️

09/07/2026

Our work with TBF's Southern Florida Sailfish initiative was recently featured in the Florida Sportsman magazine. The initiative aims to understand Sailfish movement along the east coast of Southern Florida using satellite tags.

09/03/2026

Our Cooperative Sport Fish Tag and Release program has been using citizen based science to help track Cobia and Tripletail around the Gulf for over 30 years, and it has been a great success due to anglers like Mr. Charles Sheldon who has tagged and released over 400 cobia!

Due to efforts from Mr. Sheldon, our researchers better understand cobia growth, movements, and population structure/connectivity in the Gulf.

For more information on Mr. Sheldon's story, visit this link: https://www.usm.edu/news/2026/releases/cobia-tagging-charles-sheldon.php

For more information on our Cooperative Sport Fish Tag and Release program, please visit: usm.edu/tagandrelease

08/31/2026

Jim was recently remembered in Marlin Magazine for his dedication and passion for fisheries research! You can read more about his work by following the link below.

https://www.marlinmag.com/travel/remembering-jim-franks-hy-jacobson/

08/24/2026

Our work on with The Billfish Foundation was recently highlighted in TBF's magazine. This project aims to better understand Blue Marlin movement and habitat utilization in the Gulf by deploying pop-off satellite archival tags.

08/21/2026

Jim Franks was recently remembered in The Billfish Foundation's Magazine. Jim's dedication to billfish research helped build a lasting partnership between CFRD and The Billfish Foundation. We are honored to continue his legacy research and collaboration with TBF.

08/14/2026

Over the summer, CFRD hosted 4 incredible students through GCRL Summer Field Program Research Internships. Rachel, Lexi, Sam, and Wade were able to assist in field work learning invaluable skills in addition to investigating bull shark diet, age, and growth. We are proud of their work and can’t wait to see what they accomplish next!

07/29/2026