By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Making news
Yard Sale keeps Volunteer Group on water
The 25th annual Marine Yard Sale benefitting the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team will be at the St. Petersburg school from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. There will be used boats, including a large selection of power and sailboats, as well as motors, accessories and electronics. The Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team is a trained group of volunteer students and alumni who provide maritime search and rescue in the bay area. The team records roughly 500 assists a year. For information, call (727) 864-8555.
Conservation
Clam Bayou gets filtration help
Tampa Bay Watch, in partnership with Southwest Florida Water Management District's Surface Water Improvement Management Program, coordinated a community salt marsh restoration project at Clam Bayou on March 12. About 140 volunteers planted 10,000 plugs of salt marsh along the shoreline of Clam Bayou, a 170-acre estuary in Pinellas County. Approximately 127 acres are publicly owned. The bayou is surrounded by the cities of Gulfport to the west, St. Petersburg to the north and east and Boca Ciega Bay to the south. The planting project is part of an effort to treat stormwater runoff among seven sites and 44 acres. The ecosystem restoration portion of the project will restore 24 acres of various estuarine and coastal habitats for Clam Bayou. The stormwater treatment components involve 20 acres of ponds designed to improve water quality of runoff from a 2,600-acre watershed, which flows from Clam Bayou into Boca Ciega Bay and ultimately Tampa Bay. The ponds will filter the pollutants and improve water quality before it reaches Clam Bayou.
Fishing
Last call for opinion on amberjack
Federal officials had extended the public comment period for a proposed rule to create a seasonal closure for amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico. If approved, the season would shut down during June and July. Recreational anglers have until 5 p.m. today to share their views with fishery managers of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Go to www.gulfcouncil.org.
Rodney Page, Times staff writer