NOAA: Keys will see no oil

http://keysnews.com/node/25237
- Keys News

Sarasota Bay seaweed study focuses on causes of growth

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100731/ARTICLE/7311027/2416/NEWS?Title=Sarasota-Bay-seaweed-study-focuses-on-causes-of-growth
- Sarasota Herald Tribune

Exotic and venemous: Lionfish found in Gulf

http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/tsnews.aspx?ArticleID=460728&pubdate=7/30/2010
- Venice Gondolier-Sun

Gulls head inland as spill curbs easy meals

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100729/ARTICLES/100729180/1211?Title=Gulls-head-inland-as-spill-curbs-easy-meals

Oil spill reported in Locust Bayou

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100729/FEATURES12/100729152/1292?Title=Oill-spill-reported-in-Locust-Bayou
- Huoma Today

Barataria Bay oil well still gushing

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100728/FEATURES12/100729295/1292?Title=Barataria-Bay-oil-well-still-gushing

Deepwater fish closer to shore

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100729/ARTICLE/7291035/2416
- Sarasota Herald Tribune

Fishing at Rod & Reel Pier

There were so many "bait fish" swimming around Rod and Reel Pier
on Anna Maria Island that fishermen on the pier
had no luck catching anything larger with rod and reel.

Fishing with a cast net for bait was simple.Pelicans didn't have to dive.
They just sat on top of the water to catch a meal.Locals laughed and said that early in the morning
is the time to fish, not high noon.
Snapper, red fish, drum, snook and mackeral are abundant.

Give sea turtles a chance

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100728/OPINION/7281029/2198/OPINION?Title=Give-sea-turtles-a-chance
- Sarasota Herald Tribune

Sarasota County unsure of plans to take sand from keys for beaches

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100728/ARTICLE/7281046/2416/NEWS?Title=Sarasota-County-unsure-of-plans-to-take-sand-from-keys-for-beaches
- Sarasota Herald Tribune

Maniposa Key - Back from the Brink

http://www.baysoundings.com/Stories/Mariposa-Key-Back-from-the-Brink.asp
- Bay Soundings

How the Gulf of Mexico became the nation's 'toilet bowl'

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/27/gulf.history.environment.toilet/index.html?hpt=C1
- CNN

Biologists release endangered turtles into Gulf

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100726/ARTICLES/100729446/1292?Title=Biologists-release-endangered-turtles-into-Gulf-
- Huoma Today

Appearance of oil on Florida beaches diminished

http://www.news-press.com/article/20100726/GREEN/100726031/1075/Appearance-of-oil-on-Florida-beaches-diminished
- Ft. Myers News-Press

Beach morning glories

These morning glory vines run all over the dunes

south of Sarasota's Turtle Beach.

They are not in bloom in the July heat.

"Beach Morning Glory or Goat's Foot is a common tropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and provides one of the best known examples of oceanic dispersal. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water."

"The sprawling runners spread out from the woody rootstock but the large 2-lobed leaves are sparse and a dense cover on the sand is rarely achieved except in protected situations. This plant is a primary sand stabilizer being one of the first plants to colonise the dune. It grows on almost all parts of the dune but is usually found on the seaward slopes sending long runnersspinifex grass and is a useful sand binder thriving under conditions of sand blast and salt spray." - Wikipedia.com

School of fish

A moving spot of rippling water

may indicate a school of fish underneath.

Seen from east City Island Park viewing platform

on Sarasota Bay

Freshly hatched Black Snails

Thousands of black snails adorned the shore at the
east tip of Sarasota's City Island last weekend.
They were less than 1/2 inch long and must have been freshly hatched.
These saltwater snails were also seen in mass at the same place
at this time last year. Can you identify them?

Unleashing river to fight oil causes massive oyster kills

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100724/ARTICLES/100729582/1211?Title=Unleashing-river-to-fight-oil-causes-massive-oyster-kills
- Huoma Today

Sand accumulates near Islander groins

http://www.yourobserver.com/news/longboat-key/News/072120107243/Sand-accumulates-near-Islander-groins?page=2
- Longboat Key Observer

Note how close the Islander Club is to the beach in comparison with other structures:
http://www.mapquest.com/mq/3-jHGinrUb
(The Club is not where the star is on this map. It is the two Y-shaped structures on the beach northwest of the star.)

Overfishing the big four

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100724/ARTICLE/7241023/2072/FEATURES?Title=Overfishing-the-big-four
- Sarasota Herald Tribune