Tampa Bay Watch DIY Summer Coastal Cleanups
This summer’s event is a DIY “Do it yourself” Coastal Cleanup! We want to encourage YOU to hit those places in YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD where you’ve noticed sadly forgotten or misplaced trash. We welcome everyone in the Tampa Bay region to participate. Please help spread the word by inviting your friends and family to join!
How will we know when and where you clean up? Your cleanup efforts can take place on any day within the month of July. On June 30, we will send all registered volunteers a link. This link will open a survey created by Tampa Bay Watch on any smartphone or tablet device. You and your group will fill out the short survey during your cleanup, click submit, and the data will be sent directly to Tampa Bay Watch.
Click here to register for the cleanup!
Tarpon Rodeo Raises $120K+ for Restoration & Edcuation
Tampa Bay Watch raised $120,000+ for our education and restoration programs. With 24 teams, a record of 23 tarpon were caught and released successfully in this year’s tournament.
Our winners: The 1st place Guardian Division goes to Bonefish Grill! As proud partners with Tampa Bay Watch, we are thrilled that this team took the prize with Captain Jared Simonetti. The 1st place Sport Division went to Wise Rhino/Gale Force Consulting.
Sustainability: Tampa Bay Watch took another step towards sustainability and introduced mobile bidding. Cutting down on paper waste, this action also allowed everyone to participate in Tarpon Rodeo’s Castaway Soiree auction. Thank you to all that participated! We raised $30,000+ for our education and restoration programs through the silent and live auction.
Fund-A Need: With our Fund-a-need auction, our education team secured crucial finding which will allow them to purchase supplies for this season’s summer camps. Click here to see pictures from the event.
Attention Boaters: Participate in the Summer Closure Ghost Trap Rodeo
Saturday, July 13 from 9:00am-1:00pm at seven locations around Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Watch is partnering with Clearwater Marine Aquarium & Ocean Aid 360 for the 2019 Summer ClosureGhost Trap Rodeo. This event will occur during the closure of the fishery when any and all traps are legal to be removed per our permitted efforts. What is a Ghost Trap? A derelict trap which is no longer actively being fished. If left untouched, this trap may have many adverse effects such as entrapment and death for smaller fish species or line entanglement around larger marine animals. The 2019 Summer Closure Ghost Trap Rodeo will be held on Saturday, July 13 from 9:00am-1:00pm at the seven locations (below) around Tampa Bay. Click here to read more about the event and to register as a volunteer boater.
- Belleair Causeway
- Seminole
- Ft. Desoto
- Warner’s Bayou (Bradenton)
- EG Simmons (Ruskin)
- Courtney Campbell
- Demen’s Landing (St. Pete)
It’s a wrap for the Bay Grasses in Classes School Year!
11,135 plugs of wetland grasses were grown and transplanted in the program
We’d like to thank everyone involved in the BGIC program who helped make another year of wetland restoration possible! During the 2018-19 school year, 3,301 students and teachers grew and transplanted 11,135 plugs of wetland grasses. They donated more than 7,500 hours of time to maintaining their school wetland nursery and transplanting the plants they grew to restoration sites in Tampa Bay. These salt marsh plants will act as filtering agents for storm water runoff, stabilize shorelines, and buffer uplands from storms, while offering foraging and sanctuary for many species of fish and wildlife.
Image: Last week Channelside Academy of Math and Science planted 750 plugs of Spartina alterniflora at EG Simmons Conservation Park.