What should I do if I find a tar ball?
No oil impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have been identified on the west coast of Florida; this includes the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg/Clearwater beaches. The threat is “essentially zero” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Emergency Res ...
- What can I do to practice coastal stewardship here in Florida?
Approximately 153 million people (53% of the U.S. population) live in the coastal counties along the United States’ Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Great Lakes, and six island territories. By 2015, the population of these areas is expected to increase by another 12 million. Not only is the p ...
- What can I do if mangroves block my view of the water?
First thing to do is your research. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has several publications that give you good guidelines. The 1996 Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act, and a Mangrove trimming guide for homeowners are two good resources. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wet ...
- What are “Clean Marina” Programs?
These are programs designed to bring awareness to boaters and facilities regarding environmentally-friendly practices to conserve Florida’s marine environment. The continued success of the state’s $56 billion tourism industry, its $14 billion marine industry and $6.6 billion fishin ...
- I have heard about the Monofilament Recovery Recycling Program. What is it?
Monofilament line is another name for, high-density, single-strand, nylon fishing line that is used on fishing reels and in the manufacturing of fishing nets. The Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program (MRRP) is a statewide effort to educate the public on the problems caused by monofilam ...
- Why do my choices in seafood matter and how can I make a difference?
Worldwide, the demand for seafood is increasing yet many of the sportsfish we enjoy eating such as grouper, swordfish, and pompano are overfished. With more than 75% of world fish stocks reported as already fully exploited or overexploited, the maximum wild- capture fisheries potential from the ...
- The giant dome-- how should it work when capturing oil from a spill?
Engineers began constructing a giant dome to place over a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico to contain the growing spill threatening the US coast. Essentially, this dome would be placed over the leak; instead of the oil leaking into the water column, it will leak into this dome structure. T ...
- How does a control burn, for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, actually work?
The response to BP/Transocean's Deepwater Horizon incident responders scheduled a controlled, on-location burn on April 28, 2010. This controlled burn removed oil from the open water in an effort to protect shoreline and marine and other wildlife. Workboats consolidated oil into a fire resistan ...
- What is the Florida Sea Grant?
The Florida Sea Grant uses academic research, education and extension to create a sustainable coastal economy and environment. We are a partnership between the Florida Board of Education, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and the University of Florida Institute of Food an ...
- Do you offer, or know of, training to work with oiled wildlife?
This type of training would need to go through BP contractors—for handling wildlife, volunteers need to receive certification training as well as become a BP employee. This training as well as other types of training is still in the making. Keep Pinellas Beautiful is working with the coun ...
- What are Mangroves?
There are more than 50 species of mangroves found throughout the world. Three species of mangroves are native to Florida: Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) and White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). Florida's estimated 469,000 acres of mangrove forests cont ...
- What is a White Mangrove?
White mangrove, Laguncularia racemosa, usually occupies the highest elevations farther upland than either red or black mangroves. Unlike its red or black counterparts, the white mangrove has no visible aerial root systems. The easiest way to identify the white mangrove is by its leaves. They are ...
- What are Black Mangroves?
Black mangrove, Avicennia germinan,s usually occupies slightly higher elevations upland from the red mangrove. The black mangrove can be identified by numerous finger-like projections, called pneumatophores, which protrude from the soil around the tree’s trunk.
- What are Red Mangroves?
The term walking trees comes from the red mangrove, Rhizaphora mangle, which grows along the water’s edge and is easily identified by its tangled, reddish roots called “prop roots”. These roots have earned mangroves the title “walking trees”. The mangrove appears t ...
