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2017 Was a Great Year for Sarasota Bay Watch!

Species Restoration

  1. Bay Scallop Restoration – over 100,000,000 scallop larvae released to date
  2. Southern Hard Shell Clam Restoration 60,000 juveniles released in Sarasota Bay 250,000 clams being grown to top neck size by clam farmer partner for release summer of 2018
  3. Began dialog with City of Venice and VABI about adding mangrove restoration to the planning and design of an urban forest
  4. Supported Gulf Shellfish lnstitute’s sea grass enhancement project using Southern Hard Shell Clams at Port Manatee
  5. SBW volunteers helped the Bay Estuary Program bag oyster shells to create new habitat, and to install it in the bay

Habitat Restoration and Creation

  1. Skier’s Island Restoration with Riverview High School and Cardinal Mooney High School
  2. Big Edwards Island Cleanup with Riverview High School
  3. Little Edwards Island Cleanup with Sarasota High School?
  4. Jim Neville Marine Preserve islands cleanup with Pine View School
  5. Sea Bird Rookeries Fishing Line Cleanup
  6. New Pass Underwater Dive Cleanup
  7. Suncoast Reef Rovers Dive Cleanup – North Jetties
  8. Suncoast Reef Rovers Dive Cleanup – South Jetties
  9. Suncoast Reef Rovers Dive Cleanup – Sharky’s Fishing Pier
  10. City of Sarasota Living Seawall Demonstration Project at Island Park
  11. Partnered with South Gate Neighborhood Association and Sarasota County
  12. Extension Service to create and implement a community-driven Phillippi Creek Shoreline Restoration Project
  13. Phillippi Creek kayak cleanup partner with Southgate Neighborhood
  14. Phillippi Creek kayak cleanup experience in partnership with World Rowing Championships and SEC
  15. Sister Keys cleanup

Community Engagement and Outreach

  1. Annual Sarasota Bay Great Scallop Search
  2. Annual Scalld’palooza shellfish restoration fundraiser
  3. Earth Day exhibitor at Oscar Scherer State Park
  4. Youth Ocean Conservation Summit exhibitor at Mote Marine Laboratory
  5. Bringing the bay into the classroom for 500 middle school students in partnership with
    Riverview High School, Students Teaching Students project
  6. Participation in regional Shellfish Conference to promote sustainable commercialization and
    restoration of shellfish in Florida
  7. Publication of “My Puddle Is A Muddle” early reader story about water stewardship and the power of individual action/responsibility
  8. Participation in National Estuaries Week to promote marine debris awareness and remediation
  9. Partnered with Sarasota County Extension Service for hands-on training of water stewardship for 75 8th grade students
  10. Ongoing participation in NOAA’s regional Marine Debris Management program
  11. Participated in NOAA’s Gulf of MexJco Shellfish Conference
  12. Student-led kayak experience of the mangrove tunnels with Big Brothers/Big Sisters
  13. Monthly START newsletter guest column
  14. Teaching students about marine debris and environmental stewardship with Mote Marine Laboratory and UF/IFAS Extension’s Florida Microplastic Awareness Project, with Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, and Palmetto High School
  15. Partnering with Mote Marine Laboratory high school interns to categorize and document marine debris collected from Sarasota Bay.
  16. Exhibited at the Sarasota County Seagrass Survey event.
  17. Attended the Sea Grant/Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting to raise scallop awareness and issues with FWC.
  18. Presented at “Our Local Water” event on Anna Maria Island
  19. Youth Leadership Development

Cheers to 2018 being even better

Thank you to all our volunteers and donors for making these events possible!

Please remember to keep Sarasota Bay Watch in mind during this holiday donating season.