CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral City Council approved a $170,000 study to examine endangered smalltooth sawfish in the South Spreader Canal following the removal of the Chiquita lock earlier this year.
Fox 4's Bella Line spoke with a Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation director about the study:
The council decision will help pay for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission research.
"I think that it's going to be really imperative that we look at not just the numbers and the direct impacts that the removal of this lock had on individual organisms, but it's also important that we look at overall the health of the critical habitat that these organisms rely on for their for a strong population down here," Matt DePaolis said.
DePaolis, with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, said the Chiquita Lock area is a known sawfish habitat and more research will be valuable for understanding the ecosystem.
According to the city agenda, the study will last more than 1,000 days.
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