Buresh Blog: July by the numbers... August averages... Derecho... Sawfish

But “Talking the Tropics With Mike” will be updated every day.

July was hotter - tied for 4th hottest on record - & wetter - 11th wettest on record - than avg. in Jacksonville (JIA):

August averages for Jacksonville (JIA) [highlights - the avg. dips below 90 degrees F by the end of the month & we lose nearly 50 minutes of daylight]:

The end of July marks the anniversary of the term “derecho” - going all the way back to 1877! Derecho has become widely known recently largely thanks to the world wide web & social media. So much so that I’ve had folks ask me if it’s a new weather phenomenon. From the N.W.S. glossary:

A derecho (pronounced similar to “deh-REY-cho”) is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. Although a derecho can produce destruction similar to the strength of tornadoes, the damage typically is directed in one direction along a relatively straight swath. As a result, the term “straight-line wind damage” sometimes is used to describe derecho damage. By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles (about 400 kilometers) and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph (93 km/h) or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho.

A true derecho is rare for Jacksonville & is much more common from the Central Gulf coast northward to the Midwest & Great Lakes:

An interesting fish story out of UNF:

Jacksonville, Fla. – The University of North Florida Shark Biology Program caught, tagged and released the first sawfish recorded in its 16 years of surveying shark populations in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. Dr. Jim Gelsleichter, shark biology program director, along with one graduate student and three undergraduates, found the 9.9-foot smalltooth sawfish in the St. Marys River on Tuesday, July 16.

The smalltooth sawfish is a species of ray, which are close relatives of sharks. Sawfish are known for possessing an elongated, sawlike snout (known as a rostrum), which they slash laterally through the water to stun and impale prey species.

“Sawfish were known to live in Northeast Florida before the population decline led to the species being listed as endangered,” said Gelsleichter. “The reoccurrence of sawfish in our area is a positive sign of population recovery.”

The sawfish was identified as a male based on the presence of claspers, paired extensions of the pelvic fins that male sharks and rays use for reproduction. It was determined to be a sub-adult based on the softness of the claspers, which become highly calcified and rigid upon maturity. Male sawfish reach maturity at approximately 11 feet in length based on earlier work conducted by scientists, including UNF biologists who have been studying sawfish reproduction since 2010.

Although sawfish were historically found from Texas to as far north as New York, the U.S. sawfish population experienced dramatic declines in both their abundance and distribution in the middle to late 20th century, mostly because of incidental capture in fishing gear and trophy fishing as well as habitat decline. Because of this, the smalltooth sawfish was the first marine fish and first elasmobranch (sharks and rays) to be listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2003. At the time of its listing on the ESA list, the remnants of U.S. smalltooth sawfish population was largely restricted to south and southwest Florida between Ft. Myers and the Florida Keys.

Since its placement on the U.S. ESA list, the smalltooth sawfish population has showed positive signs of slow recovery based on an increase in encounter rate and catch rate in research surveys, as well as observations and/or catches of sawfish in regions that they were thought to be extirpated, or lost, from. This includes UNF’s recent capture in the St. Marys River as well as recent catches in Tampa Bay and Cedar Key.

Despite positive signs of recovery, recent events show that this population remains at risk. There have been recent reports of sawfish dying in the Florida Keys because of an unknown “spinning and whirling” disease. So far this year, 53 sawfish deaths due to the disease have been reported. Other fish also seem to be affected, but sawfish are particularly susceptible to it based on the number of carcasses recovered. The individual collected in the St. Marys River did not appear to exhibit this behavior, but individuals observed as far north as Tampa Bay have exhibited these effects.

The sawfish is both a prohibited species in Florida and a federally listed species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. If a local angler accidentally catches a sawfish, they should entangle the animal from any fishing line and cut the line as close to the hook as possible without removing the animal from the water or trying to handle it. It would be beneficial to record information on the site of capture, approximate animal size and water depth. Pictures of the animal in the water would also be valuable.

Anyone who catches or sees a sawfish anywhere in the U.S. is encouraged to report their observations to the U.S. Sawfish Recovery Team by visiting www.SawfishRecovery.org, calling 1-844-4SAWFISH, emailing sawfish@myfwc.com, or by submitting the information through the FWC Report app.

Night Skies (Sky & Telescope):

Aug. 3-4 (morning): Jupiter, Mars, and Antares form a nearly equilateral triangle about 7° on a side.

Aug. 5 (dusk): The Moon, less than two days past new, hangs ½° above Venus. This view will be a challenge to catch — you’ll need an unobstructed horizon toward the west-northwest; binoculars will enhance the delicate scene.

Aug. 9 (dusk): The waxing crescent Moon is 4½° below Spica as they sink together toward the horizon.

Aug. 11 (morning): For the next week, Jupiter and Mars appear within 2° of each other in the hours after midnight.

Aug. 11-12 (all night): The Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak, with up to one meteor per minute seen from dark locations. Perseids can appear some days before and after this date. The almost-first-quarter Moon sets before midnight and shouldn’t affect viewing.

Aug. 13 (evening): The waxing gibbous Moon is 1½° to the lower right of Antares, the red supergiant in Scorpius.

Aug. 14 (morning): After midnight until dawn, Mars and Jupiter climb together less than ½° apart.

Aug. 20 (evening): The Moon, one day past full, rises with Saturn a mere ¼° above it.

Aug. 26 (morning): The last-quarter Moon and the Pleiades, 3° apart, are high in the east.

Aug. 27 (morning): The waning lunar crescent, Jupiter, and Mars cluster less than 5° apart in the east.

Aug. 30 (dawn): The waning crescent Moon is in Gemini, 4° below Pollux, with Castor completing a ragged line.

Moon Phases

New Moon August 4 7:13 a.m. EDT

First Quarter August 12 11:19 a.m. EDT

Full Moon August 19 2:26 p.m. EDT (Sturgeon Moon; also Barley Moon, Grain Moon)

Last Quarter August 26 5:26 a.m. EDT