Sanibel Captiva Island Message Board

[CTinCT]

Observed at Tarpon Bay Beach for Sanibel. From the link below, navigate to Lee, then click on the green Sanibel "balloon":

http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/

[Kim]

Cool feature! Thanks CT

[CTinCT]

Welcome, Kim. Here's the story behind it from the Island Reporter:

SCCF monitoring beach conditions at Tarpon Bay

Submitted by KAREN NELSON



The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) began daily reporting on beach conditions at Tarpon Bay Beach on May 30 as part of a network organized by Mote Marine Laboratory to monitor Southwest Florida beaches.

“Tarpon Bay Beach is at the center of the island, so it’s a good indicator,” said SCCF biologist Amanda Bryant, who coordinates the Foundation’s sea turtle nest monitoring program as well as the beach conditions monitoring. Conditions are monitored at Tarpon Bay Beach, straight out from the beach access. SCCF’s Sea Turtle jeep drives from Tarpon Bay to Bowman’s Beach each morning during the May through October nesting season (Bowman’s Beach to Blind Pass is driven separately).

Beach conditions data are being collected on:

• Dead fish (none/some/many)

• Respiratory irritation associated with red tide (count coughs: none/slight/moderate/high)

• Water color (clear/moderate/dark)

• Wind direction

• Surf conditions

• Quantity of red drift algae and its location

The daily beach report can be accessed online at http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/ or by calling 941-BEACHES (941-232-2437). Beaches in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties are included in Mote’s Beach Conditions Report. Other Lee County beaches being monitored are Bowditch Point Park, Lynn Hall Beach Park, Lovers Key State Park and Bonita Beach.

Sanibel resident Ralph Woodring, owner of the Bait Box and founder of the START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) chapter on Sanibel and Captiva, asked SCCF Executive Director Erick Lindblad if SCCF would be able to participate in the monitoring program.

If beach conditions deteriorate in the future, SCCF will monitor additional sites as part of its Marine Laboratory core program. The Lab is also collaborating with FGCU and other groups to investigate linkages between water quality and dense macroalgae washing up on Lee County Beaches.

The Tarpon Bay monitoring began on Friday, May 30, when Kate Nierenberg, senior biologist with Mote, trained Bryant. Most of the beach reports are updated at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; the Tarpon Bay data is collected once a day in the early morning. Mote began collecting the information in 2006. The Beach Conditions Report is implemented by Mote’s Environmental Health Program. Information gathered for the Beach Conditions Report is also shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which formulates a HAB Bulletin, which predicts the movements of harmful algal blooms. The Beach Conditions Report should help enhance NOAA’s forecast ability.

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of natural resources and wildlife habitat on and around Sanibel and Captiva through environmental education, land acquisition, landscaping for wildlife, marine research, natural resource policy, sea turtle conservation and wildlife habitat management. Community support through membership dues and tax-deductible contributions makes this work possible.

[ArielTLMermaid]

good info!

(i added it to the wiki under tips/maps)