Three Firsts! To paraphrase an idiom, Sarasota Bay Watch isn’t letting sea grass grow under it fins. In celebration of our 10th anniversary of good works in the bay, we have in 2017 already ventured into the classroom, added a new spoil island to our cleanup docket, and forged new partnerships! Last year SBW tested [...]
IT’S A CLAMTASTIC RESTORATION EFFORT! “Why clams?” you may ask. Like bay scallops, southern hard clams were once abundant in our bays and waterways, but now they are virtually absent. Unlike bay scallops, which live only one year and are sensitive to red tide, the southern hard clam lives up to 30 years and actually [...]
While we keep our fingers crossed for scallops we are also starting Southern Hard Shell Clam restoration, with our first clam babies already growing in the hatchery. Clams grow more slowly and need up to 2 years to reach adult stage – so it will be late 2017 before they are ready to release into [...]
Sarasota Bay Watch has been extremely busy over the past weeks. We continue to grow our partnership with Venice’s Suncoast Reef Rovers via a series of diver-based underwater cleanups of Sharky’s Pier, the Venice Jetties, and most recently the Venice Moorings. Mayor John Holic even came out to cook food for divers and topside volunteers! [...]
It’s that time of the year! Our annual fundraiser, Scallopalooza, is just around the corner. Come out to the Sarasota Yacht Club on September 24th to show your support for community-driven efforts to protect and restore Sarasota Bay. Go to sarasotabaywatch.org for more information and to register. Sign up soon – last year there was [...]
Sarasota Bay Watch’s annual fundraiser is getting a new tagline – “Scallopalooza, It’s Clamtastic!” Save The Date: September 24th at the Sarasota Yacht Club. The new slogan let’s people know that our community-driven scallop program is expanding to include southern hardshell clam restoration. Hardshell clams are an important part of our bay’s ecosystem and they [...]
Sarasota Bay Watch has extended its education and community outreach activities to engage elementary school children. Recently, we visited over 70 4th grade students to learn about filter feeders in the bay, scallop life cycle, etc. The 4th graders also watched a high school student produced video on restoration, and were captivated by live scallops [...]
