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Tag: Perico Bayou

Perico, Palma Sola cleanup Saturday

Perico, Palma Sola cleanup Saturday

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Once again, Anna Maria Island residents who care about our local waters will have a chance to get involved in cleaning them up during the upcoming Suncoast Aqua Ventures water-based cleanup on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. until noon. The focus of the cleanup will be Perico Bayou and Northern Palma Sola Bay. There will be about a dozen kayaks available for volunteers, some of which are tandem. Organizers are encouraging those who own kayaks and shallow draft boats to bring them, so no one is left out who wants to be on the water. The event will launch from the Robinson Preserve kayak launch west of the Palma Sola Causeway on the south side of Manatee Avenue West.

All supplies will be provided, including pickers, bags, gloves, drinks and snacks. All volunteers need to bring are water shoes and refillable water bottles. This area has not been cleaned since before Hurricane Ian, so organizers expect to find a lot of trash tucked into the mangroves.

Please register online at https://suncoastaquaventures.com/event/perico-bayou-northern-palma-sola-bay-water-based-clean-up/ so organizers have sufficient supplies and refreshments for everyone. If you have any questions, please call Cheryl Huntsinger at 941-962-1488.

Suncoast Aqua Ventures was created by a handful of friends in 2016. Inspired by Huntsinger and Troy Brown, a bunch of friends who dive and love the water became concerned with the trash and debris they discovered on the offshore reefs. Instead of complaining, they decided to do something about it. They created a one-of-a-kind competitive event called The Reef & Beach Cleanup and gave cash and prizes in numerous categories to the teams that compete. These events to date have collected over 97,000 pounds of marine debris from our waterways. Volunteers come from all ages and all walks of life. They are water enthusiasts, kayakers, fishermen, scuba divers and anyone who has a passion for the local aquatic ecosystem. Come out and meet some of the many passionate and action-oriented citizens on the Suncoast who turn their love of the water into action.

It’s the work of local non-governmental organizations like Suncoast Aqua Ventures, their leaders and members that inspire people to preserve our paradise and give them a way to participate in protecting it. If you’re looking for a way to contribute, join the cleanup on Aug. 3. See you there.

Volunteers clean up Bowlees Creek

Volunteers clean up Bowlees Creek

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

This past Saturday, I attended Suncoast Aqua Venture’s large-scale cleanup of Bowlees Creek, a 4.8-mile stream in Manatee County just north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

This body of water is located within the Sarasota Bay watershed and drains a large area of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The event, in partnership with Keep Manatee Beautiful and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, was headquartered at the Bahia Mar West Marina and hosted by owners Willy and Aubry Petrat. Other partners included Suncoast Waterkeeper, Sarasota Bay Watch and Oyster River Ecology.

The marina is a unique location on Sarasota Bay that has private and public slips (first come, first served), a large tiki hut and many other amenities. The area of the cleanup included upstream within U.S. Highway 301 and State Road 70 boundaries, and downstream to the mouth of Sarasota Bay, including Bowlees Island.

Cheryl Huntsinger, vice president of Suncoast Aqua Ventures, said, “A major goal of today’s event was to get trash from upstream areas before it made it to the creek flowing downstream into Sarasota Bay.”

During the event, over 70 volunteers used pontoon boats, kayaks, paddleboards and small jon boats and collected over 1,600 pounds of debris The event was well-timed after recent rains. Following the cleanup, Suncoast Aqua Ventures and Bahia Mar West Marina held a cookout at the marina’s tiki hut.

Suncoast Aqua Ventures was created by a handful of friends in 2016 who were concerned about trash and debris in our waterways. They created a one-of-a-kind competitive event called The Reef & Beach Cleanup and gave cash and prizes in numerous categories to teams who competed. They structure all activities to be fun, family-friendly events. To date, their events have collected over 100,000 pounds of marine debris from our waterways. Their volunteers come from all ages and all walks of life and include water enthusiasts, kayakers, fishermen, scuba divers and anyone who has a passion for our beautiful aquatic ecosystem.

Their next event will be a cleanup of Perico Bayou and northern Palma Sola Bay, one of my favorite locations and close to Anna Maria Island. I encourage readers to sign up and participate in one of these events. You’ll make new friends, be surrounded by like-minded volunteers and go away knowing you left our local waters better than you found them.

For information on the upcoming Perico Bayou cleanup, visit the Suncoast Aqua Ventures website. Watch the video here.

Film to feature local oyster recycling program

Film to feature local oyster recycling program

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

PERICO BAYOU – A film crew followed about 75 volunteers on the last day of National Estuaries Week Saturday as they worked in Perico Bayou, laying oyster shells collected by local restaurants for recycling.

The scenes are slated for a documentary, “Unfiltered: The Truth about Oysters,” which will spotlight the history of oysters from Chesapeake Bay to Apalachicola Bay, including farming efforts, research studies at Florida A&M University, Florida State University and the University of Florida, and the local Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Restoration Project.

Film to feature local oyster recycling program
Oyster shells from local Chiles Group restaurants are now in Perico Bayou, forming new oyster beds. – Manatee County | Submitted

The project, a partnership between START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide), the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department and the Chiles Group restaurants, recycles oyster shells collected from restaurants, sun-cures them at Perico Preserve and “plants” them, creating new oyster habitats at Perico and Robinson Preserves.

The project is designed to clean area waters, decreasing nutrients that feed red tide and blue-green algae.

Oysters siphon water through their bodies to obtain food, cleaning the water by removing excess nutrients. With each oyster filtering up to 50 gallons of water per day, every acre of restored oyster reef filters nearly 40 million gallons of water each day, according to the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department.

“More oysters mean cleaner water, and cleaner water promotes more oysters,” Education Division Manager Aedan Stockdale said. “These oysters will provide food and habitat for fish, which will, in turn, attract a diversity of birds and other animals as well as provide recreational and commercial opportunities for people.”

Oysters are increasingly threatened, according to film producer Chucha Barber.

Film to feature local oyster recycling program
From left, Chucha Barber, Josh McLawhorn and Hope Childree are working on a film about oysters that will feature the Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Restoration Project in Manatee County. – Cindy Lane | Sun

“Oyster cultivation dates back hundreds of years,” she said. “The most consumed live animal in the world is now experiencing global decimation. When harvested, both the animals and the habitat (the shells) are removed from nature.”

Barber hopes the film will spread the oyster recycling idea nationwide.

“There isn’t anything like this in Apalachicola,” she said.

For more information on the film, visit www.oyster.film.