ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Heavy surf from the Gulf and strong winds from Tropical Storm Bertha impacted 189 sea turtle nests on Anna Maria Island from July 19 through July 22.
“During that time, there were 371 loggerhead nests still incubating on the beach,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella stated in her July 24 email update.
According to Mazzarella, Tropical Storm Bertha impacted 189 nests. That accounts for 51% of the nests that were on the Anna Maria Island beaches when the storm started. Sixty-five nests were completely washed out, six nests had some eggs washed out, seven nests were observed in standing water and 111 nests were washed over by the surf. The remaining 182 nests were not impacted.
Some turtle nests were completely under water because of Tropical Storm Bertha. – Maureen Richmond | Submitted
In her email, Mazzarella said sea turtle nests can withstand some overwash, but too much overwash may cause the turtle eggs to stop developing; and heavy surf washing away the sand can expose the nest or pull out the eggs.
“Once the eggs have been moving around in the surf, it’s likely that they are no longer viable,” she said. “However, eggs left in the sand may still be viable after the water drains from the nest. Rain and wash over from the surf can also cool the nest.”
“Each day of the storm, Turtle Watch patrolled the beach with a list of all 371 nests so they could check each one and determine if any of them lost their posts or had eggs washed away,” she said. “Turtle patrol documented water disturbances, picked up nest stakes that washed away, used the original GPS coordinates to determine if nests were completely washed out, and reposted nests that had lost stakes but were still in place.
“Turtle patrol is tasked with protecting sea turtles and their nests from human impacts, but we do not interfere when nests are impacted by Mother Nature. Sea turtles have been around for millions of years and have adaptations that account for losses due to natural causes,” Mazzarella said.
She said the heavy rains obliterated both adult female tracks and hatchling tracks, but Turtle Watch volunteers still found new nests and hatches.
She noted the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest during a specific part of the incubation period.
“Warmer temperatures produce more females, and cooler temperatures produce more males,” she said. “This may have increased the number of males produced in some nests.”
Mazzarella expressed appreciation for those who called the Turtle Watch hotline at 941-301-8434 to alert them to eggs and stakes washing out, as well as to hatchlings being found off the beach.
Turtle Patrollers Karen and Chuck Anderson inventoried a hatched nest, to the delight of this youngster that watched. – Cindy Hodge | Submitted
So far this season, Turtle Watch has conducted 56 nest inventories and documented 2,855 hatchlings produced from those nests.
“Every nest that hatches is inventoried three days after the hatch is observed,” Mazzarella said. “During a nest inventory, all the contents of the nests are removed so we can determine how many eggs were in the nest and how many hatched. Currently we are seeing a 76.7% hatch success rate from these nests. Hatched nests are marked with a red flag.”
BRADENTON BEACH – To recover from sand loss on local beaches due to multiple hurricanes, two beach renourishment projects are scheduled for this year.
The first project, beginning in August, will reconstruct the beach sand losses from Hurricane Idalia in 2023 on Cortez Beach and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach. That project will draw sand from nearby Longboat Pass.
In a June 25 email to The Sun, Manatee County Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker wrote, “There was a small but measurable sand loss along this part of the beach and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has agreed to (eventually) repay 75% of the cost of this project, with the state reimbursing 12.5% of the total cost and the county’s TDC (Tourist Development Council) beach renourishment fund paying for the remaining 12.5%. Due to the small amount of sand and proximity of the borrow area this project should take less than a month to complete.”
Hunsicker said there was also measurable sand loss from Hurricane Idalia across the federal portion of the beach.
“The Corps (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) has decided to include Hurricane Idalia’s sand losses into the larger project they hope to begin in November 2026 and extend into April or May of 2027,” Hunsicker wrote. “The Corps will be combining Hurricane Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton sand losses in their project. When they conclude their project at the federal limits and continue into the Cortez and Coquina beach segments (likely in the 2027 timeframe of the project), the amount of sand renourishment they will be delivering there will be the loss amounts documented from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.”
Turtle nest relocations
Preliminary work has not yet started on either renourishment project, but Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers have been busy relocating sea turtle nests in the project area.
“As of today, we have relocated 42 nests for the Coquina renourishment project,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in a July 2 email to The Sun.
The relocation of the nests involves an effort to recreate the depth and width of natural sea turtle nests before placing the eggs inside.
“We are working with Turtle Watch on nest relocations in advance of the Coquina/Cortez renourishment project set to begin in about two months from now,” Hunsicker wrote. “Anna Maria Island Turtle watch is under contract with the Natural Resources Department. That’s how we are working together, giving the organization specific tasks which the county is paying for.”
The source of funding for the contract payments to Turtle Watch is the beach renourishment fund portion from the tourist development tax.
Renourishment funds
Regarding the larger renourishment project slated to begin in November, Hunsicker said, “As in the Idalia-only project, FEMA will again be reimbursing 75% of the total cost of the Cortez and Coquina beach segments and the state will be reimbursing 12.5% and the County Tourist tax fund for beaches making up the remaining 12.5%.”
According to Hunsicker, the U.S. Army Corps will be funding practically 100% of the renourishment costs within their federally authorized area.
“The county payment of $6,181,600 to the Corps is to cover the cost of the work they will be completing on the county’s behalf at our request over the Cortez Beach and Coquina beach area,” Hunsicker wrote. “I say ‘practically’ because the county will also be covering (at a county and state 50/50 cost share) a small amount of sand added into the federal project that did not meet the federal criteria for their payment, requiring a county payment of $276,000 for this sand in the federal project area – not really enough funding to make a difference when describing the incredible cost savings to the county and state for this federal cost share commitment is likely to exceed $22 million.”
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The sky was still dark when Kristen Mazzarella and her volunteers rolled onto the sand.
By the time the first beachgoers spread their towels, the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring teams had already covered nearly seven miles of Gulf and bayside shoreline on ATVs and on foot, cataloguing the night’s sea turtle activity, marking new nests and recording data that feeds into four decades of conservation science.
During the June 25 patrol, seven nests were discovered on the Island – six were found along the Gulf shoreline and one was discovered on the bayside.
When asked how often the patrols go out, Mazzarella, the Turtle Watch executive director, said, “Every single day.”
Turtle Watch members examined the beach area near the BeachHouse restaurant in Bradenton Beach. – Ernie Vanderwalt | Sun
The work is meticulous by necessity. Mazzarella has spent nearly 30 years in sea turtle conservation and has developed protocols for identifying a true nest from a false crawl. A false crawl is the trail a sea turtle leaves when she emerges from the water but turns back without laying her eggs.
The crawl marks left behind by a loggerhead turtle allow the Turtle Watch volunteers to locate and mark the new nests each morning. If those tracks are crossed or obscured before the patrol arrives, a new nest can be missed entirely.
As part of the daily routine, the Turtle Watch team has adapted patrol routes and coordinates closely with multiple agencies that share the beach. Those agencies include Manatee County Beach Patrol, local law enforcement agencies and the county’s beach cleaning operations that entail a large John Deere tractor towing a beach rake along Coquina Beach and Manatee Beach. During nesting season, which runs through Oct. 31, the beach raking routines are adjusted to avoid disturbing active nests.
NESTING CHALLENGES
The 2026 nesting season is already proving remarkable. Across the Island’s monitored shoreline, Turtle Watch has recorded nearly 300 loggerhead nests – a pace that reflects a healthy nesting population and the daily discipline of Turtle Watch teams that never miss a morning.
This season, that discipline is being tested by an added complication: Since the sea turtle nesting season officially began on May 1, Turtle Watch volunteers have relocated 39 nests in anticipation of a smaller beach renourishment project that is expected to commence at Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach in August. The smaller renourishment project will be followed by a significantly larger beach renourishment project that’s expected to begin in November, after turtle nesting season ends.
Mazzarella said relocating turtle nests is a labor-intensive process that requires careful documentation and state permits. She said beach renourishment projects, while necessary for maintaining the beach, can alter
\the slope, temperature and compaction of the sand in ways that affect nesting success.
Among the most critical phases of the season is hatchling emergence, which runs July through September. Each hatchling must navigate from nest to Gulf in darkness, guided by moonlight and starlight reflecting off the water. Artificial light from coastal properties can disorient them fatally, drawing them inland toward roads and predators. During nesting season, Turtle Watch maintains a nighttime retrieval and rescue team that responds to calls around the clock.
“We can get woken up in the middle of the night,” Mazzarella said.
ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS
The permit governing volunteer activity caps the patrol team at 24 permitted members. Mazzarella said she can train additional volunteers and rotate them onto the permit over time, but the real need is having a consistent group of volunteers who can commit two to three days a week, and not just on weekends.
She said the organization’s greatest current need is not equipment but the education efforts used to reach beachgoers before problems occur. She said most people come out and they just see the beach, but they don’t recognize the beach is a habitat for turtles and shorebirds. Turtle Watch asks beachgoers to remove their beach chairs, toys and beach gear before sunset; to fill in any holes dug in the sand; and to keep the lights off or use amber-filtered lights after dark.
Ernie Vanderwalt | AI Generated
Residents and visitors who encounter a nesting turtle or her hatchlings are asked to stay at least 50 feet back and avoid flash photography. If you see a dead, injured, distressed or disoriented sea turtle or hatchling, please call Turtle Watch at 941-301-8434.
According to the Turtle Watch website, since 1983 Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch has monitored more than 20,800 turtle activities, protected more than 10,000 nests, and shepherded hundreds of thousands of hatchlings to the Gulf. Manatee and Sarasota counties together host the highest density of loggerhead nests in the Gulf.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Manatee County Beach Patrol rescued 136 beachgoers from dangerous rip currents over a three-day period from Wednesday, June 17, through Friday, June 19. None of the rescued swimmers required additional medical assistance.
Capt. Marshall Greene oversees the Manatee County Beach Patrol operations at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach and at Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach in Bradenton Beach.
“We’ve rescued over 130 individuals since Wednesday,” Greene said on Friday.
When contacted again the following day, Greene said 39 people were rescued on Wednesday, 48 were rescued Thursday and 49 were rescued on Friday.
The red flag was flying at Manatee Beach on Friday, June 19. – Ernie Vanderwalt | Sun
On Friday, the Manatee County Public Safety Department posted a Facebook message that said, “On Wednesday alone, our Beach Patrol team responded to 18 rescues involving more than 30 beachgoers. We’re grateful for the quick actions and dedication of our lifeguards, who safely assisted swimmers throughout the day. Several of these rescues were related to rip currents – strong and fast-moving channels of water that can quickly pull swimmers away from shore.”
If you find yourself caught in a rip current, Beach Patrol advises taking the following actions:
• Stay calm. Don’t panic.
• Don’t try to swim directly against the current.
• Float, breathe and conserve your energy. Swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of the current, then make your way back to shore.
• Always swim near a staffed lifeguard tower.
Use these potentially lifesaving tips if you find yourself caught in a rip current. – Ernie Vanderwalt | Sun
Greene said the conditions behind the three-day surge in water rescues were a combination of wave action, wind and heavy beach traffic. He said many of the rescues involved “flash rip currents,” which are channels that form suddenly in water that was calm minutes earlier – even in areas where swimmers believed they could safely stand.
What stood out to Greene wasn’t the volume of rescues, but the outcome: none of the rescued swimmers required hospitalization or calls for EMS assistance.
“Our staff got to them and pulled them out of the water and rescued them before it got so critical that they either inhaled water or had any other medical incident,” Greene said.
Capt. Marshall Greene oversees the Manatee County Beach Patrol. – Manatee County | Submitted
Greene credited the Beach Patrol lifeguards’ training and vigilance for noticing the swimmers were in distress before their conditions became life-threatening. He said the lifeguards worked “preemptively and preventatively” throughout the week. He noted Beach Patrol staff are also certified EMTs, but that level of care wasn’t needed during these rescues.
Greene said many rescues involved multiple swimmers at once, occasionally stretching staff across simultaneous incidents.
Greene noted Beach Patrol covers less than two miles of Anna Maria Island’s seven-mile shoreline and he urges swimmers to stay near the staffed lifeguard towers.
“If you swim at a guarded beach, we’re there to help you,” he said. “Swim at an unguarded beach, it’s going to take us time to get there because somebody has to call 911 first.”According to Lt. Joey Santos, there were less than 10 rescues on Saturday.
Beach Patrol advises beachgoers to check the current beach conditions before swimming, . The beach conditions can be found online at mymanatee.org/departments/public-safety-department/beach-patrol-division.
At the beaches, the swimming conditions indicated by the green, yellow, red or double red flags flown from the lifeguard towers.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The official May 1 start to sea turtle nesting season was celebrated at Coquina Beach Café in Bradenton Beach with educational materials and displays provided by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers.
Turtle Watch volunteers taught Suzi Fox Day attendees about sea turtles. – Leslie Lake | Sun
The annual educational event is named “Suzi Fox Day” in honor of the late Turtle Watch executive director Suzi Fox, who passed away in 2022.
Turtle-friendly PAR20 amber LED light bulbs were available in exchange for a donation. Local musicians Scott Blum and Bill Vinhage provided the live music.
A model of a sea turtle nest was on display during the event. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Beach patrols to monitor nesting activity have begun, but so far, there have been no signs of nesting sea turtles on Anna Maria Island beaches.
Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella (left) spoke to Turtle Watch volunteers. – Leslie Lake | Sun
“We’ve been out every morning since April 15,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said.
“We’re doing a lot of preparation and getting out to all the contacted most of the property managers and they can order educational materials on our website and then inviting them to come here and pick up educational materials,” she said.
“We’re trying to do more with our educational outreach, and doing a lot more over the winter,” Mazzarella said. “In the summer, we’re trying to get more materials about shorebirds so we can also educate people about shorebirds.”
She said the volunteers are watching a group of black skimmers in Bradenton Beach that may possibly become a nesting site.
A model of a black skimmer shorebird was displayed. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Mazzarella said Turtle Watch is already planning ahead for a beach renourishment project scheduled to take place at Coquina Beach this summer.
“The turtles will be nesting,” she said. “We’re getting ready to start relocating for the beach renourishment project. Once we have a meeting and know what kind of equipment is going to be used, we’ll know more.”
Sea turtle nesting tips
During sea turtle season, May 1 to Oct. 31, follow these tips to help nesting sea turtles:
Turn off lights visible from the beach and close blinds from sundown to sunrise; lights confuse nesting sea turtles and may cause them to go back to sea and drop their eggs in the water, where they won’t hatch. Light can also attract hatchlings away from the water.
Don’t use flashlights, lanterns or camera flashes on the beach at night.
Remove all beach chairs and other objects from the sand from sundown to sunrise; they can deter sea turtles from nesting and disorient hatchlings.
Fill in the holes you dig in the sand before leaving the beach; they can trap nesting and hatching sea turtles, which cannot live long out of the water.
To report large holes or other turtle obstacles call Anna Maria code enforcement (941-708-6130, ext. 111, Bradenton Beach code enforcement (941-778-1005, ext. 280) or Holmes Beach code enforcement 941-778-0331, ext. 2600).
Level sandcastles before leaving the beach; they can block hatchlings from the water.
Don’t use balloons, wish lanterns or fireworks; they litter the beach and Gulf and turtles can ingest the debris.
Do not trim trees and plants that shield the beach from lights. Never touch a sea turtle; it’s the law.
If you see people disturbing turtles, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
The AMI Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring website can be found at IslandTurtleWatch.com.
In March, Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella shared this highly informative sea turtle presentation with the Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee in Holmes Beach.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – On Friday, April 24, trees were planted in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach in honor of Arbor Day.
Participants in the annual Arbor Day events included city officials from the three Anna Maria Island cities, the Anna Maria Island Garden Club, Keep Manatee Beautiful, the Scenic W.AV.E.S. Partnership Committee, the Florida Forest Service and the Modern Woodmen of America and other community advocates.
A gumbo limbo was planted in Anna Maria. – Submitted
A gumbo limbo tree was planted at Jacaranda Park in Anna Maria. A silver buttonwood tree was planted at Prince Park in Holmes Beach. The city of Holmes Beach and the Islanders 4 Clean Water initiative hosted a coinciding “Free Tree Giveaway” on the city hall property, during which silver buttonwood and green buttonwood trees were given away.
A sabal palm and a sea grape plant/tree were planted in Bradenton Beach. – Submitted
A sabal palm tree, a coconut palm tree and a sea grape were planted at Katie Perola Sunset Park in Bradenton Beach. A wildlife education sign was also installed.
After the plantings were finished, there was a cookout at the Annie Silver Community Center. – Submitted
The tree planting ceremonies were followed by the Florida Forest Service’s All-American Cookout Lunch featuring free hot dogs and hamburgers at the Annie Silver Community Center in Bradenton Beach.
“Arbor Day celebrates the importance of trees to our Island environment, health and community spirit,” AMI Garden Club President Renitia Bertoluzzi said in a press release distributed in advance.
HOLMES BEACH – The Holmes Beach-based Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee heads into 2026 riding a wave of positive momentum created in 2025.
Working in unison with the city-funded Islanders 4 Clean Water initiative, the city-funded volunteer committee is chaired by Holmes Beach resident and retired chemist, Dr. Jennifer Miller. The committee includes Holmes Beach residents Marty Hicks, Mike Pritchett and Bill Romberger, Anna Maria residents John Kolojeski and Scott MacGregor and Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps.
City Commissioner Terry Schaefer serves as the commission’s committee liaison. He attends the committee’s monthly meetings at city hall and later provides the commission with meeting recaps.
Adopted in September, the city’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget contains $15,000 for Clean Water Committee expenditures.
Each committee member brings different water-related expertise and experience to the committee. Mopps, who was appointed to the committee in mid-2025, along with MacGregor (a retired marine biology teacher), provides the committee with a wealth of knowledge about water-related and environmental issues and the inner workings of municipal governments.
City Clerk Stacey Johnston swore Charlie Mopps in as a Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee member. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Dating back to its 2021 inception, the committee’s primary mission remains: “To research means by which to sustain and improve upon the condition and purity of the natural waters and drinking water around Anna Maria Island.”
The Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee’s monthly meetings sometimes feature guest presenters and the 2025 presenters included Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Dave Tomasko in May and a trio of University of Florida researchers in September who spent nearly two hours discussing in great detail the PFAS chemicals present in drinking water and natural waters.
PFAS
The University of Florida researchers provided the committee with a 59-page presentation on the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances).
The trio included Dr. John Bowden, an associate professor at the University of Florida and the founder and namesake of the university’s Gainesville-based Bowden Laboratory. He was joined by fourth-year PhD candidate Tommy Sinkway and second-year PhD Student Isabella Cioffi. Much of their work involves collecting and analyzing drinking water samples and natural water samples. They also collect and analyze flesh samples taken from fish.
University of Florida researchers Isabella Cioffi, Tommy Sinkway and Dr. John Bowden addressed the Clean Water Committee in September. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to their presentation, 98% of the U.S. population has PFAS in their bodies. PFAS chemicals are found in tap water and natural waters and the potential health hazards include higher cholesterol, liver damage, kidney cancer, a higher risk of testicular cancer, developmental effects for unborn children, lower birth weight and reduced response to vaccines and more.
Bowden said PFAS chemicals have been around since the 1930s and their early uses include non-stick cookware and the the development of the hydrogen bomb as part of the Manhattan Project.
PFAS chemicals are now used in pesticides, propellants in various sprays, fast food packaging and wrappers, pizza boxes. clothing, cosmetics, popcorn bags, candy wrappers, shampoo, cleaning products, weather resistant clothing, non-stick cookware, nail polish, paints and solvents, eye makeup, dental floss, Band-Aids, toilet paper, plastic watchbands and much more.
“We don’t like products that leak, we don’t like things that stain. Because of this demand, all these chemicals were made. Unfortunately, once we’re done using those products they get disposed, end up in landfills, get reduced to run-off and wind up in our environment,” Bowden said.
He said the chemical bonds in PFAS are among the strongest in chemistry. He said the chemical properties that make PFAS great for the products they’re used in also make them bad for the environment because they take a very long time to break down and essentially stick around forever.
He said the most egregious use of PFAS is probably the fire-fighting foam used at airports and military bases to extinguish intense fires. Through rain and runoff, the PFAS contained in the foam later makes its way into the natural waterways.
Bowden said in the past 20 years or so scientists began researching the negative health effects of PFAS; and in the past decade or so, PFAS has been identified in drinking water sources.
“We’re exposed through our drinking water, we’re exposed through our food,” he said.
Bowden said water treatment plants only remove about 10% of the PFAS chemicals and a lot of PFAS-contaminated affluent materials end up in natural waterways too.
Bowden said he’s also growing increasingly concerned about airborne PFAS, because high levels of PFAS have been found in dust collected in air conditioning filters. He said the higher quality filters remove more of the potentially harmful airborne PFAS.
“There are a lot of concerns for PFAS. This is a problem that’s not going to go away,” he said. “Everybody in this room has PFAS in them. What’s unknown is what that means for your health.”
Bowden said the researchers use crowdsourcing to increase public awareness and garner assistance from volunteers. Bowden’s team developed standard operating procedures that instruct volunteers how to collect drinking water samples using kits provided by the Bowden Lab.
The presentation included several color-coded maps that identify PFAS hot spots, frequent spill areas and more. The maps show the Tampa Bay area as a PFAS hot spot and Bowden and his team plan to study the greater Tampa Bay area, which by proximity also includes Manatee County and Anna Maria Island.
Bowden and Kolojeski noted one of the drinking water taps with the highest concentration of PFAS was found at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach.
Mopps noted Manatee County provides the drinking water to Longboat Key and the three Anna Maria Island cities. He suggested testing the drinking water at the mainland point of origin and testing the water again when it comes out of the residential taps on the barrier Island cities to see if the PFAS levels increase as the water travels through the county’s water pipes.
Mopps said the drinking water transferred to Longboat Key spends time in holding tanks and the town further enhances the water treatment done by the county.
“I have plenty of public drinking spots where you can collect samples of your own at our parks,” Mopps told Bowden.
Kolojeski, a longtime proponent of in-home reverse osmosis water filtering systems, said, ‘I would never allow a child or anyone of child-bearing age, male or female, to drink my tap water until I had reverse osmosis to eliminate the PFAS.”
When asked if plastic water bottles release PFAS into the water they contain, Bowden said, “That’s a good question. I don’t know if it’s from the water or the bottle.”
Kolojeski recommends drinking water bottled by companies that use reverse osmosis. He said those companies include Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and Nestle.
“Some of those ‘so-called’ very expensive spring waters do not use reverse osmosis. You’re paying a lot of money and you’re still getting PFAS,” Kolojeski said.
Sinkway’s portion of the presentation focused primarily on the increased presence of pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs and “drugs of abuse” found in natural waters. His research also focuses on the greater Tampa Bay region – an area he said includes multiple airports, a military base and has been subjected to multiple sewage spills.
“That heat map is bright red,” he said of the Tampa Bay area.
Fish & PFAS
Cioffi’s research focuses primarily on the presence of PFAS in fish consumed in the United States, and particularly in Florida.
Cioffi noted commercial and recreational fishing and seafood consumption is a large part of the Florida economy and the national economy – providing more than 121,000 full and part-time jobs and an estimated $24 billion economic impact.
“There’s not a lot of information on PFAS and fish,” Cioffi said. “I fish. I grew up fishing. That’s a big part of my life. I don’t want us to stop eating fish. I want us to be able to eat fish in a way that’s healthy. We have healthy fish and Florida should be known for having healthy fish.”
“We just want people to know which fish are safe to eat.” Bowden added.
“We still eat fish with mercury in it, but we have consumption advisories that say only eat this type of fish once a month, every two weeks or whatever it is,” Cioffi said, noting that her goal is to one day see data-supported, risk assessment-based consumption advisories issued for fish species containing high levels of PFAS.
Cioffi’s research includes analyzing 86 species of fish found in Florida waters. She said recreational anglers, charter captains and seafood markets have been contacted and crowdsourcing is being used to gather additional fish samples from anglers.
Cioffi said the lab has already collected 4,000 fish samples and she still seeks more. Her portion of the presentation included a chart of the 86 species to be analyzed. She already has enough samples for 45 of those species but she still seeks additional samples for the remaining species; and she particularly seeks additional samples of four species: Atlantic tripletail, mahi-mahi, Gulf flounder and southern flounder.
Cioffi said the fish samples only need to be 2-3 grams per fish and should be taken from the fatty muscle tissues rather than the organs.
The collected fish samples shipped to the Bowden Lab at the lab’s expense are freeze-dried, pulverized, extracted and concentrated as part of the data processing efforts.
Romberger suggested the Bowden Lab send the city fish sampling kits to be made available to local anglers. A short time later, the Holmes Beach city clerk’s office received a couple dozen sampling kits that are now available to local anglers and fishing captains at no cost. Interested angers can learn more at www.bowdenlaboratory.com/florida-fish.
Fish sample kits are available at the Holmes Beach city clerk’s office. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“We need more knowledge on this,” Cioffi said
Regarding PFAS as a whole, Bowden said, “If we have a better educated community, you can better educate your politicians and maybe get them to understand why this isn’t just a flavor of the month. This is something that’s going to affect your kids, it’s going to affect your pets, it’s going to affect anything exposed to them.”
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – An often-cited proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
In that same spirit, The Sun says, “It takes an entire Island to recover from back-to-back hurricanes.”
For that reason, The Sun names the entire extended Anna Maria Island community as its Persons of the Year for 2025. For an Island community that experienced such widespread damage and devastation, it would be impossible and unjust to honor a single individual or organization when so many did so much in 2025.
For many on the Island, much of the year was spent on the continued recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
The wide-ranging recovery, restoration and rebuilding efforts included city leaders, city staff members, hurricane-impacted residents, local builders, contractors, subcontractors and skilled trade workers, business and restaurant owners and employees, community event organizers, non-profit organizations, Realtors, real estate agents and their support staffs and the vacation rental owners, managers and support staff that helped accommodate the returning tourists and visitors that supported the Island’s hurricane-impacted, tourism-based economy.
Three cities, one Island
Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth helped lead the recovery and restoration efforts taking place in their cities.
The mayors were assisted by the city commissions and commissioners that govern the cities; and the mayors and commissioners were assisted by the volunteer committee members and advisory board members who provided their valuable insights and assistance.
Anna Maria General Manager Dean Jones, Bradenton Beach Public Works Director (and police chief) John Cosby and now-departed Holmes Beach Public Works Director Sage Kamiya played critical roles in guiding their departments through the recovery efforts.
The hurricanes also reminded us of the important work done by the Island’s building and planning departments, and the impacts their work has on the construction community and the Island’s residents, property owners and business owners.
Anna Maria City Planner Ashley Austin, Bradenton Beach Building Official Bill Palmer, Holmes Beach Development Services Director Chad Minor, Holmes Beach Building Official Neal Schwartz and Holmes Beach Development Services Coordinator Kim Charron were among those who played important roles in the recovery efforts.
The three building departments were greatly assisted by the code enforcement/code compliance departments led by Dave DeZutter in Anna Maria, Evan Harbus in Bradenton Beach and James “JT” Thomas in Holmes Beach.
City clerks Amber LaRowe (Anna Maria), Terri Sanclemente (Bradenton Beach) and Stacey Johnston (Holmes Beach) and their staffs assisted the mayors, commissioners and fellow staff members with the recovery efforts and the daily operations of their cities.
City treasurers LeAnne Addy (Anna Maria), Shayne Thompson (Bradenton Beach) and Julie Marcotte (Holmes Beach) played important roles in the reporting, tracking and accounting associated with the hurricane damage reimbursement process while also performing their regular financial duties.
In terms of hurricane-related public safety, the worst had passed by the time the calendar flipped to 2025, but throughout the year Sgt. Brett Getman (Anna Maria), Police Chief Bill Tokajer (Holmes Beach) and Chief Cosby (Bradenton Beach) led the law enforcement agencies that helped provide us all with a safe place to live, work, play and visit.
The Sun also recognizes the many other unnamed city staff members who helped their cities and citizens recover.
Return, restore, rebuild, recover
The Island’s return to relative normalcy couldn’t have happened without the determination, resiliency and emotional fortitude of the Island’s permanent residents and the financial sacrifices they made to reoccupy their beloved Island homes.
Some longtime residents made the difficult decision to move off the Island, but a large percentage of the Island’s already shrinking residential population returned when their homes were habitable again; and that’s a testament to their love for the Island.
Bayfest and other public events helped restore Anna Maria Island’s sense of community. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The numerous community events held in 2025 helped foster and rejuvenate the Island’s strong sense of residential community. Signature events included Bayfest, Lester Family Fun Day, the “Old Soldiers & Sailors” Veterans Day parade, Anna Maria’s symphonic Memorial Day salute, the city block parties at City Pier Park, the weekly farmers market, Holmes Beach’s 75th Anniversary celebration and a multitude of festive Christmas and holiday events held Island-wide.
The Island’s recovery would have been impossible without the construction firms, contractors, subcontractors, skilled trade workers, technicians, landscapers and service providers that repaired, restored and rebuilt the Island – a task that continues into 2026.
The Island’s return to normalcy would not have happened without the determined business owners who overcame significant financial losses and hardships to reopen their restaurants, bars, retail and rental operations and other businesses that faithfully serve the Island’s residents and visitors. And the business owners could not have done it without their faithful and determined employees.
And while recovering themselves, the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce assisted the Island’s business community in its return to normalcy.
Faced with hurricane-damaged structures and uncertain markets, the Island’s Realtors, real estate agents, vacation rental owners, vacation rental managers and their support staffs helped bring new residents to the Island and bring back the much-needed vacationers and visitors that support the Island’s tourism-based economy.
The Sun also recognizes all the Island residents, locals, day-trippers and other mainland visitors whose expenditures helped the Island’s businesses and establishments recover from the hurricanes.
As an Island business ourselves, The Sun express our utmost appreciation and sincere gratitude to every single business that advertised with us this year. Your support helped us weather the storms.
The Island churches welcomed their congregations back to worship, regroup and reconnect and the Roser Food Pantry provided food to those who needed it.
The Center of Anna Maria Island provided a place to exercise, compete, learn and gather with the community.
Wildlife Inc., Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch & Shorebird Monitoring and others helped care for and protect the Island’s animal kingdom and marine environments.
And for anyone not already recognized in this story, if you had anything to do with the Island and its recovery in 2025, thank you for anything and everything you did.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The qualifying period for city commission and mayoral candidates on Anna Maria Island ended on Aug. 29 at noon and there will be only one contested city commission race in the upcoming fall election cycle.
Holmes Beach
The only contested race will occur in Holmes Beach, with four candidates seeking three commission seats. The Holmes Beach race features incumbent commissioners Steve Oelfke, Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek and non-incumbent challenger Jessica Patel, who currently serves as vice president of the Anna Maria Elementary PTO.
With four candidates seeking three commission seats, those seats will be awarded to the top three vote getters in the upcoming non-partisan city election, with one candidate left without a seat to fill.
For those not registered to vote, the deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 6. The deadline to request a Vote by Mail ballot is Thursday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m.
Anna Maria
In Anna Maria, incumbent commissioners John Lynch, Kathy Morgan and Charlie Salem will claim additional two-year terms without their names appearing on the ballot and without any votes being cast.
“If races have no opposition, we would not have to conduct an election. Each candidate would be considered elected,” Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office Assistant Sharon Stief said of the uncontested races.
Bradenton Beach
With no votes cast, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Commissioners Debbie Scaccianoce will claim additional two-year terms with no votes cast; and Commissioner Ralph Cole will claim an additional one-year term due to the previous reconfiguration of city’s geographical-based commission wards.
Longtime commissioner Jan Vosburgh is not seeking reelection and her soon-to-be-vacant seat will be filled by commission appointment after the November election cycle.
For more information about Manatee County elections, visit the Supervisor of Elections Office website.
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