Tampa Bay Watch had a very successful derelict crab trap removal project on Saturday in which 228 traps were removed from Tampa Bay during Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s 10-day regional closure of blue crab fishing. Over 100 volunteers on 35 boats participated at six locations around the bay. 68 traps were collected in Belleair Bluffs, 78 in Boca Ciega Bay, 30 at Cockroach Bay, 27 in St. Pete at Demens Landing, 12 in Upper Tampa Bay at Courtney Campbell Causeway and 13 in Alafia River at Williams Park!
This event would not be possible without the help from all of Tampa Bay Watch’s dedicated volunteers and project partners including Sea World Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, ReelCycle, Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation, St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, Pinellas County & the City of Largo. Thank you to ALL from the Paradise News team!
Adopt a monotube! Keep fishing line out of our bay!
Help Tampa Bay Watch keep discarded monofilament (fishing line) out of Tampa Bay! Discarded fishing line can be very dangerous to birds, marine life, and even boats – it is estimated fishing line will last 400-600 years in the environment before it begins to break down. You can help by adopting a monofilament recycling tube, AKA monotube, at one of these popular fishing locations listed below. Adoption involves monitoring your tube twice a month depending on the location. Once collected, the fishing line is sent to Berkley Fishing, where it is recycled into tackle boxes or other fishing equipment, as well as fish habitats!
Sites that need monitoring: Northshore Park in St. Pete, Coffee Pot Bayou boat ramp, Tom Stuart Causeway, Tierra Verde Bridge (West side), Picnic Island, MacDill Air Force Base, & Anclote River Boat Ramp. Click here to check out our map to see if a location is convenient for you!
Contact Melinda Spall at mspall@tampabaywatch.org with the site that you’d like to adopt.
Boaters needed for Great Bay Scallop Search on Saturday, August 26, 9am – 1pm
Don your snorkel and sign up quickly: The Great Bay Scallop Search date has been set for Saturday, August 26. We are recruiting 200 volunteer snorkelers to search for scallops in select areas within Boca Ciega and Lower Tampa Bay. The goal of the event is to monitor and document the health and status of the bayscallop population. Sign up fast for this free event, and help us tally up the bay scallop population in TampaBay!
We are recruiting volunteers with shallow draft boats. We have already filled all of our spots for canoes/kayaks and volunteer snorkelers without boats.
Click here to read more about the Scallop Search. Registration fills up very quickly, so don’t hesitate to sign up today! Click here to register your boat.
Attention Boaters! FWC has established new manatee protection zones for the state!
Manatee protection rules are established by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to restrict the speed and operation of vessels to protect manatees from being injured. Although the manatee species’ status was changed from endangered to threatened in March of 2017, there was a record number of manatees killed in Florida by boaters in 2016, so it’s imperative to obey speed zones. Click on the following links to see the maps of the updated speed zones.
All information courtesy of Tampa Bay Watch.