SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2024
Due to the ongoing recovery efforts in the area and the threat of wind and heavy rain on the same date, Suncoast Reef Rovers will be POSTPONING the monthly meeting for November (WEDNESDAY, NOV 20, 2024).
We apologize for the inconvenience; however, we would rather have everyone safe and ready for a great meeting at a later date. Please Stay Safe!!
Last week, SCRR was contacted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron (SSS). They stated they had sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Milton and were starting to clean up their property. They asked for Suncoast Reef Rover assistance in ascertaining how much debris was in the waters around what was left of their dock areas.
On Saturday, October 26, 2024; several volunteers of SCRR conducted a scouting dive and mini-cleanup of the area. We removed quite a bit of debris but saw a lot more that needed to be done. We will be planning a full scale cleanup with the SSS in the near future.
Thank you to the members of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron for letting us help in this process. Thank you to the volunteers that came out to help with the scout dive and cleanup.
Events
Since 1997 the Suncoast Reef Rovers have removed over 50,000 pounds of marine debris that lurks beneath the surface of our waters.
Monthly Meetings every third Wednesday night. Location TBD.
Next Monthly Meeting is Wednesday, January 15, 2025 @ 6:30pm at our temporary location - VENICE FD STATION 3 (5300 LAUREL RD E, NOKOMIS, FL 34285) in the Community Hall
Sign up for our email for more details
Next Monthly Meeting is October 16, 2024 @ 6:30pm
at our temporary new meeting place
Venice Fire Department Station # 3 (5300 Laurel Rd East, Nokomis, FL )
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER : TBA
On Sunday, September 1, 2024; volunteers from the Suncoast Reef Rovers teamed up with divers from the Trashy Girls Collective ( CLICK LINK FOR MORE INFO ) for a joint cleanup dive. A total of 9 divers and 1 topside help removed 133 lbs of trash!
We had a great time with TGC and look forward to partnering with on future cleanup opportunities.
Great job everyone!
2024 TOTALS - 2,925 Lbs so far
2/12/24 - Sarasota 820 LBS
3/25/2024- Sarasota 141 lbs
4/12/2024 - Sarasota 556 Lbs
6/8/2024 - Venice Fishing Pier- 178 lbs
7/12/24- New Pass Fishing Walkway- 215 Lbs
7/21/2024 - Donald Roehr Reef- 365 Lbs
8/24/2024- Points of Rock / Donal Roehr: 517 lbs
9/1/2024: North Jetty Beach : 133 lbs
Trash Removed in 2023: 10,115 LBS
Another great success with a micro-cleanup opportunity. On Sunday, July 21, 2024; volunteer divers from Suncoast Reef Rovers conducted a cleanup at the Donald Roehr Artificial Reef. Some of the trash removed included:
3 derelict crab traps (138 lbs)
5 anchors w/ rope and chain (60 lbs)
Abandoned cast nets : 167 lbs
For a total of : 365 Lbs of trash removed from the reef.
Special Thanks to David Maruca for all of his hard work on the cleanup in the sun!
It is important to point out that we have been finding more and more abandoned cast nets during the cleanups. When cast nets are left in the water, especially on or near these reefs, there is a likelihood marine life getting tangled up and dying in the nets. This is known as Ghost Fishing. Fishing nets used to be made from rope. But since the 1960s, they are made from nylon, a material that is much stronger and cheaper. Nylon is plastic and it does not decompose. That means that fishing nets lost in the water, called ghost nets, continue to catch fish or marine life for many many years. Because of this, hundreds of millions of marine animals are killed or injured every year due to fishing nets pollution.
Members of the Suncoast Reef Rovers and the South Venice Yacht Club recently conducted shoreline cleanup along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). A derelict crab trap was recovered from the mangroves and from the ID tag, the Reef Rovers were able to track down and contact the owner. By doing this, volunteers not only clean up the environment and improve the ecosystem, they also recycle resources instead of winding up in a landfill.
This picture captures the moment the trap is being returned to its rightful owner.
Per FWC regulations, a permit is required to remove derelict crab traps. SCRR has such a permit and with the help of FWC makes every attempt to return the trap to its owner. Congratulations to the South Venice Yacht Club for doing an awesome job with their cleanups !!
On Friday, July 12, 2024; Volunteers from Suncoast Reef Rovers visited the Fishing Walkway at New Pass in Sarasota for a micro-cleanup. We were able to remove 215lbs of trash from the waterway. Some of the trash included: a commercial trash can, traffic cone, battery box, dive goggles, several knives, lots of tangled cast nets and various other trash items
On Wednesday, June 19, 2024; SCRR held its monthly meeting for volunteers. A member of the Venice Fire Rescue Department gave a presentation about water rescues and provided information about how to stay safe on water vessels.
After the presentation, SCRR members were invited to tour the departments new Fire Rescue boat and were treated with an interactive demonstration of its capabilities.
SCRR truly appreciates both Venice Fire and the Venice Police Department for always keeping the volunteers safe during our cleanups.
The weekend of May 3-5, several members of the Suncoast Reef Rovers with volunteer divers from Sarasota Scuba Quest and various other groups participated in the 2024 Annual I.Care Trash Derby in the Florida Keys. Our dive group was assigned to the Key Largo area where we made several dives and removed quite a bit of trash. We had an amazing experience and enjoyed the opportunity to dive in beautiful waters for the purpose of making it clean and safe for everyone to enjoy!
SHOUTOUT TO VOLUNTEERS HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR COMMUNITY AND WATERS
Several of our SCRR volunteers assisted with a Venice Yacht Club project to improve the local waterways. Even though it was not a SCRR sponsored event, it shows the dedication our volunteers have with helping in the community and improving the waterways.
On Saturday, April 6, 2024 a team of volunteers spearheaded by Shaun Graser from the Venice Yacht Club (VYC) Environmental Committee planted 100 red Mangroves on three sites on Robert's Bay. Mangroves were donated by Suncoast Reef Rover Volunteer- Federico Vazquez who joined the VYC Environmental Committee in this project. In addition to Federico, SCRR volunteer and Venice Yacht Club Member, Rick McNamara also helped in the planting of the Mangrove plants.
Mangroves are important to the coastal ecosystems as they serve as a buffer from damaging winds, waves and floods. Mangrove thickets improve water quality by filtering pollutants and trapping sediments from the land, and they reduce coastal erosion. Ecologically, they provide habitat for a diverse array of terrestrial organisms and many species of coastal and offshore fish and shellfish rely exclusively on mangroves as their breeding, spawning and hatching grounds.
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Debris at our jetties, artificial reefs, and piers has deadly consequences for marine animals.
Help support our cause to make the ocean a cleaner place for everyone!