Fishermen in South Florida are assisting fisheries scientists to learn more about swordfish and uncharted ocean depths through an innovative tagging program.

GPS tracking devices will help scientists Camrin Braun and Peter Gaube from the University of Washington to learn data about swordfish, which researchers claim spend the majority of their lives in the “ocean twilight zone.”

According to Gaube, the ocean layer where there’s enough light to see and orient is called the mesopelagic zone, but there’s not enough light to power photosynthesis. Gaube states they don’t know a lot about this zone and by instrumenting and tracking swordfish, they’ll learn more information about the functions of this ecosystem.

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GPS tracking is more than a lifeline for stranded drivers. For businesses that deliver, like floral delivery services companies, it can mean the difference between satisfied, completely delighted customers, and negative reviews and refund requests. It’s a big deal for deliveries to go to the wrong location, miss the mark, or arrive late. In fact, it can kill a business quickly. But that’s not the only way GPS tracking benefits floral delivery services. These are a few other ways your floral delivery business can benefit from GPS tracking.

Allow Customers to Track Deliveries and Deal Perfectly Timed Follow-Up Calls

Sometimes floral deliveries accompany important questions that require immediate follow-up. Give your customers the opportunity to time their follow-up questions and commentaries perfectly to the tune of your flower deliveries by allowing them to track their deliveries via GPS. Then they know exactly when and where the delivery is made so they can move on to work their magic.

Make More Deliveries in the Course of a Day

GPS fleet tracking can aid in route planning in such a way that you can work more deliveries into the course of your day even while operating fewer vehicles and employing fewer delivery drivers. This can save your business big money and help you get a greater return on investment from your labor pool. Everyone makes more money when your business operates at maximum efficiency and GPS tracking can help your floral delivery service do just that.

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Winter is here in full swing. For drivers heading into colder climates, it’s a good idea to brush up on winter fleet driving safety tips in hopes that your trucks and drivers do not become cautionary tales this winter.

1. Make sure your headlights are bright and shiny. With winter come longer hours of darkness. This means you need to make sure your headlights are in prime working order to light your way at night.
2. Check wiper blades and change them if needed. Once again, visibility is an issue during winter weather events and the ability to see through your windshield can be the difference between avoiding an accident and plowing right through one, to become yet another victim.
3. Keep gas tanks fuller to accommodate delays. Accidents and traffic jams, even the occasional Interstate parking lot are par for the course when winter driving. While you want to avoid these situations by routing around them when possible, it is also essential to prepare for the worst.
4. Create a culture of safer winter driving. For most companies that means to continuously promote safe driving practices but to remind drivers about the risks of driving too fast, following too closely, and aggressive lane changes that could initiate dangerous accidents in winter weather.
5. Invest in GPS fleet tracking services. Not only can this help your drivers route around some of the worst traffic snarls and slowdowns, GPS fleet tracking can also be instrumental in sending aid to drivers if accidents do occur. This is possible because you have the exact vehicle location where you can send emergency responders.
6. Keep your drivers alert on the road. Driver fatigue is no joke at any time of the year. Delayed response times and sluggishness in winter weather can be downright deadly. How bad is the problem? The National Sleep Foundation reports that drowsy driving is responsible for approximately 1,550 traffic deaths each year.
7. Have the right tools on board. Drivers should never leave the building without proper winter tools on board including blankets, warm clothes, window scrapers, food and water (for longer than desired delays), flashlights, shovels, and kitty litter, sand, or salt.

It takes a little more than careful driving to survive the worst of winter weather. These safety tips can certainly help. Drivers must be vigilant, and vehicles must be in top running order to make it through the long, cold winter ahead.