Defining distribution and habitat use of west-central Florida's coastal sharks through a research and education program.

Identifying critical habitat for highly mobile species such as sharks is difficult, but essential for effective management and conservation. In regions where baseline data are lacking, non-traditional data sources have the potential to increase observational capacity for species distribution and habitat studies. In this study, a research and education organization conducted a 5-year (2013-2018) survey of shark populations in the coastal waters of west-central Florida, an area where a diverse shark assemblage has been observed but no formal population analyses have been conducted.