Primarily we study micro-crustaceans and their abundance (or lack of) in different areas. We also do species Counts
and are attempting to come up with a generalized Tarpon Springs to Goodland Migration/breeding pattern chart for bait and
tropical fish (we do count game fish fry as well)
Our equipment varies but our usual vessel is a 21ft Carolina Skiff Equipped with 18"scoops and flow-through
livewells Built by Marine Dynamics ( http://www.marinedynamics.com ) in Englewood, Florida. We use this same boat to provide free marine towing services to those who cannot afford regular
towing services. .
We make our fuel money selling bait, taking charters (you buy the gas we will haul your ass) out siteseeing,
snorkeling, night cruising and yes we will take you fishing if you like. We do a little towing, mostly we just stop and ask
do folks need help in which case we dont ask for money because we figure if they could afford SeaTow they would not have been
stuck to begin with. We do take the money if they offer but the rule is that we never ask. We do take Jobs towing from point A
to point B if folks call and arrange it - rates are simple Customers buy the gas and we just hope for a tip type of thing.
Mostly that is just towing from dock to marina or in some cases pulling derelict vessels out of marinas that just dont want
to deal with the paperwork.
We are currently cultivating Eco Friendly live rock in some of our tanks and sell it at $2.50 a pound
(local pickup only). Generally this is fossilized coral gathered from an old quarry we know of and we let it sit in our tanks
for at least 3 months before we consider it ready for sale. The rock comes out infused with life literally from all over the
world. We figure if we can get some pretty rock out there to peoples tanks that is less live rock being pulled from
our oceans.
Also we rescue sponges and corals which are high and dry on the beaches and in most cases we throw
them in the intercoastal the same day in areas where they will be able to recuperate yet not be disturbed by most boats
(thats why we have a Carolina Skiff that gets into places most other boats cannot). Some of our beach rescues we bring to
our isolation tanks and allow them to heal before placing them in the intercoastal . If you look in the How you can help/getting
involved section we have instructions for anyone living on the water or marinas with old bait tanks to help re-populate
native Florida Corals to our waterways.This is all done on the thought that while it may be only a small dent at least we
are in some way doing our part to bring back a small bit of the pretty Florida waters we grew up with.
We are at :
791 porpoise RD
S Venice, FL 34293
or 941-497-3580 after 6:30PM Eastern Most Nights.
While we are too lazy to do the paperwork for an NPO and we are not accepting any sort of Government funding in
any way whatsoever. We do accept donations in any amount. Most of the time the operation expenses end out coming out of the
trustee's pockets.
We are looking to get an old fishery or marina as funds become available but for the time being it is all just
a living room, dining room, entire lanai, couple of buddies pools and a couple of bio-ponds type of thing
The above Picture is our faithful Wellcraft at the Fuel dock in the MarineDynamics marina basin. Located
in Englewood, FL
Our Equipment
Currently we have about 2000 gallons of various sizes of Salt-water tanks and about 140 gallons of freshwater
tanks.
Our Expiriements include:
Freshwater:
Various methods of naturaully controlling the continuing encroachment of non-native malaysian snails
in our Florida freshwater streams and rivers. We currently have found several types of mud-skippers, darters and really Hybrid
killifish which see the young snails as excellent snack food. Problem we havent gotten around is that in areas where large
quantities of these fish would be introduced, there would be a worse encroachment (much like the streams/ponds near golf courses
are going through as a result of Talapia being introduced). Further we have tried introducing plants of various species into
our tanks and found that these snails eat anything that is introduced.
Saltwater:
Here we have it going pretty good. our largest tank is a 3x3x8 and our smallest is a group of 8 10 gallon
tanks that we use for breeding/seperating. On a small scale we are literally able to take red-tide (Karenia Brevis) water
and intentionally infect our tanks. We generally have no remaining red tide algea within 30 minutes to 1 hour. we frequently
gather plant debris just to see what is growing on/in it and several people send us water samples both salt and fresh with
plant debris. (if you wish to do this use the addresse above but please include an approximate location of where the sample
was gathered). We study the small creatures and eggs on these samples and are working on a table of micro-life in our area
vs what other areas have or dont have. this is in hope that we can eventually determine the diet of these micro critters in
hopes to find cures for various water quality ailments which would be non-invasive were water or just critters be moved into
areas that need a particular critter or algea. In the process of this we have come up with a self-contained filtration
system for Salt-water aquariums which requires only 1 pump and consumes only 1/16 of your total tank space from an end
- no maintenance other than maintain your water level. It does take 3 months on average to establish the bio foundation for
it to work and it does not work below 30 gallons but if you want to try it, e-nag me with your tank dimensions and I will
design it for you free of charge.
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