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Sign at FISH Preserve

FISH Preserve Fully Restored

November 16, 2023

After 23 years of grassroots efforts and environmental restoration, the final phase of restoration at the 100-acre FISH Preserve has been completed. The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) championed and fundraised for the protection of the land in 2000. The preserve neighbors the historically significant Cortez Fishing Village and has a prominent link to…

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Woman at edge of boat Tarpon Fishing

Director’s Note: Recreational fishing guide feedback on bay health

November 9, 2023

As we’ve been discussing lately, we are starting to accumulate more and more evidence of an ongoing recovery of the bay’s health. We are now on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP’s) draft “De-list” for nutrient impairments for Bowlees Creek, the lower portion of Sarasota Bay proper (between Ringling Causeway and Siesta Drive), Roberts,…

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Sarasota Bay near Bowlees Creek

Director’s Note: FDEP determinations of water quality trends

October 9, 2023

Our primary job here is to restore the bay, and when I took this job, I told the Policy Board that I thought they had 5 years – max – to turn it around, or else they could watch it become, perhaps, the next Indian River Lagoon (IRL). That’s not a rag on the IRL…

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man snorkeling in Sarasota Bay

Director’s Note: Good news on bay recovery

September 19, 2023

Yesterday, I spent the day on the bay with colleagues from Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) (Dr. Chris Anastasiou and Mark Walton) and Tom Ries (private consultant) looking into areas that Jay Leverone and I have been tracking for 3 years now. In the upper part of the bay, southeast of Sister Keys, we…

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Manatee on turquiose background for National Estuaries Week 2023

2023 National Estuaries Week

August 23, 2023

Join us as we celebrate National Estuaries Week 2023! Throughout September, we will be offering various events and opportunities to #WadeIn to your local bays and waterways! National Estuaries Week is celebrated every year around the U.S. to showcase the value our bays and estuaries provide to our local communities. An estuary is an area…

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FISH Preserve from above

Director’s Note: Restoration projects and vinyl seawalls

June 29, 2023

At our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting today, we had two main topics to go over.  The first one related to the ongoing and planned habitat restoration and stormwater retrofit projects that we plan on implementing with funds allocated to the SBEP via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As we’ve pointed out before, our intent…

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aerial view of the ponds at Piney Point

Director’s Note: How big of an area was impacted by Piney Point?

May 24, 2023

Successful resource management efforts have to be grounded in solid science. Both in Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay, we have the privilege of working with talented individuals doing great science. The paper linked here and to the right is an example of this type of management-relevant science. Our colleagues at the University of Florida (UF)…

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aerial of Midhtnight Pass

Midnight Pass: what does the science say?

April 18, 2023

There has been much discussion recently around the proposal of opening Midnight Pass. So, what would that mean from a water quality and habitat standpoint? The short answer is it’s complicated. SBEP is not in favor of one solution over another. However, we are here to help share what we know so that all alternatives…

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satellite image of Hurricane Ian Sept 28 2022

Hurricane Ian’s Impact on Sarasota Bay

December 9, 2022

As the Gulf Coast continues to recover from Hurricane Ian, SBEP has been working with Charlotte County, the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Environmental Science Associates, and Benchmark Laboratories to design and implement a monitoring program that would measure the human…

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aerial view of the ponds at Piney Point

One Year After Piney Point

April 14, 2022

Piney Point Credit Tampa Bay Times In April 2021, over 215 million gallons of phosphate mining water and marine dredge water, rich in algae-driving nitrogen, were released into lower Tampa Bay from the Piney Point facility. Led by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, a group of scientists and managers immediately began to monitor the ecological…

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Medina et al. 2022 Graphical Abstract

New study: Human activity intensifies red tide

April 8, 2022

Medina at al. 2022 Graphical Abstract SBEP Executive Director Dr. David Tomasko, with researchers from the University of Florida and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, co-authored a recent peer-reviewed article in the journal Science of the Total Environment titled “Nitrogen-enriched discharges from a highly managed watershed intensify red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms in southwest Florida.” Offshore processes…

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2022 SBEP Ecosystem Health Report Card

SBEP releases 2022 Sarasota Bay Ecosystem Health Report Card

April 5, 2022

The 2022 Sarasota Bay Ecosystem Health Report Card is now available on our website. The report card shows improved ecosystem health conditions over the 2021 report card. SBEP uses four measurements, or indicators, of ecosystem health to assess conditions in our bays. Across the board, the 2022 Sarasota Bay Ecosystem Health Report Card indicates that…

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Manatee In Sarasota Bay

Director’s Note: Sarasota Bay is a local exception to bad news on Florida manatee populations

April 5, 2022

2021 was the worst year on record for Florida manatees, with over 1,000 deaths – likely more than 10% of the state’s population.  What you may not know is that in the first three months of this year, we are not that far behind what happened last year.  During January to March 25th of 2021,…

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snorkeler giving two thumbs up underwater near seagrasses

Join the 2022 Seagrass Survey

March 30, 2022

The Seagrass Survey is back! SBEP and Sarasota County are looking for boaters, waders, and kayakers to help survey the seagrass beds within Sarasota Bay. The event this year will be hybrid: April 16th – 29th: Flexible survey window where volunteers can collect seagrass data on their own. Survey when and where that works best…

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June 22 Piney Point Update Slide 1 1

Peer-reviewed article on Piney Point impacts published in Marine Pollution Bulletin

March 30, 2022

Beck et al. 2022 graphical abstract In April 2021, over 215 million gallons of phosphate mining water and marine dredge water, rich in algae-driving nitrogen, were released into lower Tampa Bay from the Piney Point facility. Led by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, a group of scientists and managers immediately began to monitor the ecological…

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Manatee In Sarasota Bay

Reflections on Manatee Awareness Month 2021

November 30, 2021

November 30 marks the end of Manatee Awareness Month and a grim milestone for Florida’s manatees. As of this month, we have lost over a thousand manatees, more than ten percent of our statewide population, and nearly twice the number of manatees that typically die each year. The epicenter of this extraordinarily bad year for…

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2021 3 29 Newpass Grill Sign 3 Cropped

Seagrass Scarring Pilot Helps Determine Effective Boater Outreach Methods

October 20, 2021

Sarasota Bay is shallow, and much of it is covered in seagrass. Seagrasses are aquatic flowering plants that grow in meadows teeming with wildlife. These habitats are very important to our economy and fishing industry, and they provide protection from storms. When boaters run too shallow over seagrass beds, they can rip out grasses and…

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Eventbrite Banner WQ Restoration Workshop

2021 Sarasota Bay Water Quality Restoration Workshop

August 27, 2021

On October 5, 2021, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program hosted a virtual workshop to accelerate solutions for water quality recovery in Sarasota Bay. The workshop featured presentations from local government representatives and community innovators on projects that aim to reduce pollution entering the bay through infrastructure and nature-based solutions. Click to download the meeting agenda:…

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Screenshot For Survey Video

Eyes On Seagrass Volunteers Needed

June 9, 2021

Watch the Video Demonstration Click Here to Register for Eyes on Seagrass All are welcome to register! Students can earn community service hours for participating. Bring forms to be signed at one of the trainings. Questions? Contact Race Stryker at race@sarasotabay.org.

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Caulerpa Credit M. Dennis Hanisak

Sorting Through the Green Stuff

April 1, 2021

Christine Quigley – Public Outreach Assistant This past week, the four Florida National Estuary Programs, along with local and regional partners, convened a 3-day workshop around the topic of macroalgae. Macroalgae refers to larger species of algae, whose individuals you can see without a microscope. Seaweed is another name commonly used. If you’ve been out…

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