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Proposed clam restoration project withdrawn

Proposed clam restoration project withdrawn

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Proponents of clam and seagrass restoration projects have withdrawn their $50,000 funding request for projects proposed in and around the city.

The money will instead be used on a water filtration-related maintenance project for the multi-use trail that runs along Gulf Drive from the entrance of the city to Willow Avenue.

The group seeking $50,000 of the city’s $850,000 in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds included local restaurateur and All Clams on Deck initiative founder Ed Chiles, Diatom Initiative founder and Terra Ceia-based clam hatchery operator Curt Hemmel, Gulf Shellfish Institute Executive Director Stephen Hesterberg, Sea & Shoreline aquatic restoration firm President Carter Henne and Dr. Angela Collins from the Sea Grant Florida program.

A final vote on the funding request was expected during the City Commission’s March 24 meeting. Based on previous commission discussions, there did not appear to be commission majority support for the funding request.

Proposed clam restoration project withdrawn
Clam hatchery operator Curt Hemmel was among the funding request presenters during the Jan. 13 meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

On March 18, Hemmel sent a letter to Mayor Dan Murphy and others withdrawing the $50,000 request.

“After input from commissioners, I find our proposal is not suitable for the American Rescue Plan funding opportunity. Although filter feeding bivalves are missing in our environment, in need of restoration, consume red tide and provide numerous documented ecosystem services, I gather the main focus of the ARP funding is for red tide mitigation and not for general environmental improvement. Moreover, a portion of our proposal was intended to advance our knowledge of shellfish biology and ecology, a research endeavor. It was made apparent that research is not the intended use of ARP funding.”

None of the group representatives attended Thursday’s meeting.

Prolonged consideration

In July 2021, Chiles first floated the idea of a city-funded clam and seagrass restoration project. Mayor Dan Murphy noted the commission already earmarked $50,000 in ARP funds for a potential red tide mitigation/water quality improvement project.

On Jan. 13, the group presented its $50,000 request to the commission. Chiles said community support and additional matching funds could produce up to an additional $100,000 for the proposed projects. He also mentioned the ongoing pursuit of state and federal funds for additional clam restoration projects.

Chiles and some of the other presenters claimed clams remove red tide molecules (Karenia brevis) and other harmful elements from the water in which they live, while also enhancing seagrass restoration. Hesterberg said the proposed restoration projects would also provide important research opportunities for marine scientists.

Commissioner Jon Crane said, “I am told that clams and oysters do generally clean water but there is no evidence that clams or oysters remediate red tide.”

Crane requested the funding decision be delayed until the commission heard from Kevin Claridge, vice president of Mote Marine Laboratory’s sponsored research and coastal policy programs. Crane also noted he received a letter from retired marine biologist Dr. Randy Edwards.

Proposed clam restoration project withdrawn
Commissioner Jon Crane is not convinced that clams remove red tide from the water they live in. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

In his letter, Edwards stated, “Although this request has good intentions, it is very unlikely to have much or any positive impact on protecting and conserving the bay. This is particularly true with regard to any impacts on reducing red tide or improving water quality in Sarasota Bay or Tampa Bay.”

Hesterberg then sent a letter to the mayor that stated, “It is empirically well supported that filter-feeding, bivalve shellfish improve water quality, support adjacent marine habitats and eliminate the organism that causes red tide.”

On Jan. 27, Claridge discussed with the commission Mote Marine’s red tide research efforts, but he said he was not qualified to comment on the effectiveness of clams filtering out red tide molecules.

On Feb. 10, Edwards told the commission there is no documented scientific research that indicates clams remove red tide from the water. Edwards recommended using the federal funds on a project that removes algae-enhancing nitrates, phosphates and other nutrients from the rainwater discharged into the surrounding natural waters through the city’s stormwater system.

The commission later discussed using the earmarked ARP funds to build more stormwater infiltration trenches but took no formal action on doing so.

During Thursday’s meeting, Commission Chair Carol Carter said she attended a Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee meeting on March 8 and heard a presentation given by Dave Tomasko, Executive Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.

According to Carter’s meeting notes, which she provided to the city clerk’s office, Tomasko suggested property owners use less fertilizer and reroute their rain gutters into the ground. He also feels the public needs to be better educated about the proper disposal of grass clippings and dog droppings.

According to Carter’s notes, a committee member asked Tomasko about the effectiveness of clams regarding seagrass restoration. In response, Tomasko referenced 600,000 clams previously placed in the waters near Port Manatee and said there was no measured difference of seagrass restoration in the test areas where clams were placed and not placed.

The commission voted 5-0 to use the $50,000 to refurbish the drainage system along the multi-use trail. This will include replacing the surface-level lime rocks that get crushed and compressed over time, which reduces their drainage and filtration capacities.

Edwards’ reaction

When addressing the commission Thursday evening, Edwards said he drove for an hour to attend the meeting, spent several hours preparing for it and felt the public should have been notified that the request had been withdrawn.

Proposed clam restoration project withdrawn
Dr. Randy Edwards addressed the commission during Thursday’s meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Edwards said the claims that clams remove red tide were “scientifically false” and he noted Chiles is among those involved in the pursuit of up to $2.5 million in state funds and $15 million in federal funds for additional clam restoration projects. Edwards said those funding pursuits are based on a “false premise” and lack scientific merit.

State budget

The proposed budget that state legislators submitted to Gov. Ron DeSantis in early March includes a $2.5 million appropriation request sponsored by Sen. Jim Boyd and Rep. Will Robinson Jr. The request form lists Chiles as the requestor and The Gulf Shellfish Institute as the requesting organization for clam and seagrass restoration projects in three southwest Florida estuaries.

“We’re encouraging people to write a letter to the governor and express their support for these important projects that will improve the coastal water quality and help mitigate the nutrient load,” Chiles told The Sun on Monday.

The proposed state budget also includes a $950,000 appropriations request sponsored by Boyd and Robinson and requested by Charlie Hunsicker on behalf of the Manatee County government. The county request is for a water quality improvement project using oysters and clams.

As of Sunday, DeSantis had not approved the budget as presented or vetoed these two line item budget requests.

Marine biologist opposes clam restoration project

Marine biologist opposes clam restoration project

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Clams are not the solution to red tide pollution, retired marine biologist Dr. Randy Edwards told city commissioners who are considering a proposed clam restoration project in and around Anna Maria.

Having heard from Edwards during the Feb. 10 city commission meeting, the Anna Maria Commission has not yet made a final decision regarding a $50,000 funding request for clam and seagrass restoration projects recently proposed by local restaurateur Ed Chiles and representatives of The Gulf Shellfish Institute, The Diatom Initiative and Sea & Shoreline.

Led by Chiles, that group seeks $50,000 of the approximately $850,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds the city has and will receive from the federal government over a two-year period.

Edwards’ appearance at the Feb. 10 meeting served as a follow-up to the letter he previously sent Commissioner Jon Crane. In that letter, Edwards addressed Crane’s concerns regarding the degree to which clams remove red tide cells (Karenia brevis) from the waters in which they live. The toxic algae can cause respiratory irritation, shellfish poisoning and fish kills during its bloom phase.

Marine biologist opposes clam restoration project
City Commissioner Jon Crane has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of clams mitigating red tide. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

After hearing Edwards’ scientific positions and personal views on clams’ impact on red tide mitigation, Commissioner Robert Kingan suggested, and the commission supported, directing city engineers to research potential stormwater mitigation/nitrate reduction runoff improvements as possible alternative uses of the $55,000 in ARP funds included in the city’s current fiscal year budget for water quality/environmental projects.

Edwards’ views

Edwards, a Bradenton resident, told the commission he has nearly 50 years of experience in marine biology and ecology. He said he holds a master’s degree in marine science and earned a Ph.D. based on his study of nutrient dynamics in Florida’s estuaries.

Edwards said he served as a research scientist at the University of Miami, where he directed a large aquaculture/fish species project that included a saltwater fish stocking program. He said he was then hired by Sarasota-based Mote Marine Laboratory to lead Mote’s fish stocking program.

He said he later focused his efforts on research pertaining to the ecology of fish and fish habitats in Florida’s bays and estuaries and directed studies for the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, multiple Florida water management districts, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“I have no dog in the fight. I’m free to speak the truth because I have no strings attached,” he said when noting he has no financial stake in the proposed restoration projects.

“I do believe that locally environmentally concerned citizens that have been involved in promoting clams as a way to mitigate red tide and nitrogen pollution actually do so out of very good intentions. The same applies to local organizations such as START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) and Sarasota Bay Watch. Almost all really believe that they are doing something very good for the environment. However, the scientific realities are that they have somehow become misinformed, or at least under-informed, and there seems to be some involved partially because of self-interest,” Edwards said.

“But clams are not the solution to pollution. The scientific fact is that even large populations of clams will not remove significant amounts of nitrogen. In some specific situations, clams could increase nitrogen and have negative impacts,” Edwards said, noting that clam waste contains ammonia that other organisms can convert into nitrogen.

“The main problem that we have facing our waters is the increasing nitrogen pollution in our bays, estuaries and coastal waters – nitrogen loading that continues to increase because of man-made increases mainly due to population growth and inadequate pollution control. That nitrogen increase causes severe ecological changes to our bays and estuaries, including increased phytoplankton blooms that shade out seagrasses and reduce water quality. The nitrogen also stimulates the growth of microalgae and seaweeds. That nitrogen increase surely contributes to red tides becoming more frequent and more severe,” Edwards said.

“I can say this with scientific confidence: There has been no scientific validation or evidence that stocking clams can or may significantly impact ride tide. There’s no science behind it. There is no evidence yet that clams have or will provide substantial mitigation. They won’t reduce red tide, they won’t reduce nitrogen,” Edwards said, when calling into question whether the proposed restoration projects are an appropriate use of the federal funds.

Edwards also addressed the assertion that a single clam can filter 4.5 gallons of water per day. He estimated there are approximately 100 billion gallons of water in Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Sound and the local areas of Tampa Bay. For mathematic simplicity, he postulated that if a single clam could filter and clean 10 gallons of water per day, 10 billion clams would be needed for adequate filtration purposes in those local waters.

He cautioned that placing a large number of clams in Bimini Bay and its surrounding canals could act as a trap for the organic matter clams produce as waste products.

“I don’t think people really want that,” Edwards said.

In reference to Edwards’ comments, Commissioner Kingan said later in the meeting, “Having heard Dr. Edwards today, and knowing the other proposal that we had, it seems to me pertinent to consider talking to our own city engineers and seeing what they might propose for environmental mitigation and runoff treatment. We could ask the mayor to engage with them and see if they have a proposal that would be efficient, effective and something we could do to use this money we have.”

The commission reached consensus in support of Kingan’s suggestion.

Gulf Shellfish Institute Executive Director Stephen Hesterberg attended Thursday’s meeting but did not address the commission. Chiles did not attend the meeting. The group’s funding request was not included on the meeting agenda so no action was taken.

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Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds

 

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Commission considering clam, seagrass restoration request

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – A city commission decision on a $50,000 funding request for proposed clam and seagrass restoration projects has been further delayed as opponents voice concerns.

The additional delay is partially due to revisions made to the proposals that Ed Chiles and his associates previously presented to the city commission on Jan. 13, when Chiles and representatives from the Gulf Shellfish Institute, The Diatom Initiative and Sea & Shoreline requested $50,000 for the proposed restoration projects.

The money sought would come from the approximately $850,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds the city of Anna Maria will receive from the federal government. The city’s 2021-22 fiscal year budget earmarked $55,000 in ARP funds to address red tide/environmental issues.

The funding decision is also being delayed pending an appearance before the commission by 35-year Manatee County resident and retired marine ecologist Dr. Randy Edwards, who opposes the plan. Edwards will address the commission during the Thursday, Feb. 10 meeting that begins at 2 p.m.

On Jan. 13, Chiles told the commission a group of unnamed private donors would match dollar for dollar up to $50,000 in additional funds donated by the community at large. Chiles said this could turn a $50,000 effort into a $150,000 effort.

The group’s original proposal called for 20,000 southern hard and sunray venus clams to be placed in the Tampa Bay waters offshore of Anna Maria and in local canals. The proposal also calls for a seagrass restoration project in Bimini Bay – an interior body of water located in both Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds
Local restaurateur and businessman Ed Chiles, standing, is enthusiastic about using clams to improve water quality. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Citing lingering concerns as to whether clams help remove red tide cells from the water, Commissioner Jon Crane requested the commission delay its funding decision until first hearing from Kevin Claridge regarding Mote Marine Laboratory’s red tide research and mitigation efforts. Claridge is vice president of Mote Marine’s sponsored research and coastal policy programs.

“I am told that clams and oysters do generally clean water, but there is no evidence that clams or oysters remediate red tide,” Crane said on Jan. 13.

He also questioned whether the red tide cells removed from the water by clams are redeposited into the water via the clams’ excrement.

On Wednesday, Jan. 26, Mayor Dan Murphy received a revised proposal from Diatom Initiative founder and clam hatchery operator Curt Hemmel. The proposal increases the number of clams from 20,000 southern hard and sunray venus clams to 1-2 million southern hard clams, with no sunray venus clams, which are often harvested for dining purposes.

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds
Diatom Initiative founder Curt Hemmel has provided the city with a revised clam restoration proposal. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Hemmel’s revised proposal was accompanied by a letter of support from Gulf Shellfish Institute Executive Director Stephen Hesterberg.

“It is empirically well supported that filter-feeding, bivalve shellfish improve water quality, support adjacent marine habitats and eliminate the organism that causes red tide. Although it is true that some nutrients delivered to the sediments are resuspended, a substantial amount of nitrogen can also be rendered inert by bacteria or utilized by beneficial submerged aquatic vegetation such as seagrass. Numerous peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that bivalves can facilitate seagrass production through improved water clarity and nutrient transfer,” Hesterberg stated in his letter.

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds
Gulf Shellfish Institute Executive Director Stephen Hesterberg believes the proposed restoration programs would provide additional research opportunities. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“The exciting technologies being developed at Mote Marine Laboratory, such as clay application and ozonation/cavitation/oxidation, should absolutely be included in our arsenal of means to mitigate red tide. However, it is important to clarify these methods are reactive to when red tide blooms arise, and do not prevent or address the root causes of harmful algal blooms. In other words, such tools fight a wildfire once it is raging, but do not lower the risk of one starting,” Hesterberg stated in his letter.

Mote presentation

When appearing before the city commission on Thursday, Jan. 27, Claridge provided an overview of the red tide research being conducted by Mote Marine and its research partners.

Decision still pending on clam, seagrass restoration funds
Mote Marine’s Kevin Claridge addressed the city commission on Jan. 27. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

He said the potential red tide mitigation methods being researched include natural algaecides, ozonation, clay disbursement, UV light rays and more. Claridge said tiered testing of these potential mitigation strategies is taking place in inland test tanks before being introduced to the natural waters.

Claridge noted this research pertains to red tide mitigation rather than habitat and marine life restoration. He also noted Mote Marine is not directly involved in studying the effectiveness of clams and other bi-valves regarding their ability to filter out red tide cells.

Additional comments

Crane addressed a point raised in a letter he received from Edwards, who listed his past associations with Mote Marine, the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of South Florida. Crane asked if the 20,000 clams originally proposed would equate to a “drop in the bucket” in terms of addressing water quality issues.

In his letter, Edwards stated, “20,000 clams would filter an infinitesimally small volume of the bays. Their filtration effect would be so small, compared to the volume of water in the bays, to be totally insignificant and would have no meaningful positive impact. The question is what better could be done with the $50,000 by the city; it would be far better to invest it in reducing stormwater nitrogen runoff to the bay.”

Commission Chair Carol Carter noted Mote Marine is not seeking any project funding from the city and that Claridge appeared at the city’s request.

Carter noted both restoration projects propose restoration efforts in and offshore of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach. She suggested the group either seek some of the funding from the city of Holmes Beach or limit the scope of the restoration projects to Anna Maria. Carter also noted the city has not yet received a formal written proposal regarding a funding request and she recommended one be submitted. Murphy also recommended a more formal written proposal be submitted.