Gulf Oil Leak and Sarasota Beaches

Our beaches are pristine, beautiful and ready for visitors....Here is some more insight to what is happening on the Sarasota coastline...

I was invited to hear Dr Nigel Mould of Mote Marine speak about the gulf oil leak. An opportunity to get first hand information from an active research company located right here in Sarasota. I’d like to share some of what I learned. Although no one can say for sure, Dr Mould stated that unless we had a major hurricane, Sarasota(and the area from Clearwater to Naples) would not likely ever see surface oil due to the loop current working in our favor. This was great news.



Our beaches remain beautiful with no signs of oil or tar balls. Mote Marine has deployed (5) AUV – auto underwater vehicles 25 miles out from our shorelines looking for sub-surface oil and constantly monitor the situation. These ‘robots’ cost an approximate $25,000.00 each per week to run.

He further stated that the actual beaches should not be the main concern. Should we ever see tar balls, the beach clean-up process is quick and would be readily handled. Again, good news for beach goers. The issue is more with the grassy bay areas, marshes and the food chain. Examples are: Mollusks live by filtering water. If contaminated they would likely die. Turtles eat jelly fish and if the turtle population is disrupted, there is a possibility of an increase of jelly fish. These are just a couple of examples of the concerns for our eco-system as a whole.

There is an extensive plan in place to protect the Sarasota Bay. This will not happen unless the sub-surface oil creeps closer. Plans to strategically place booms at Terra Ceia, Longboat Pass, New Pass, Midnight Pass, Big Pass, the Venice inlet down to Charlotte Harbor, are in place. Mote believes we can contain any potential oil into the bays should we need to.

To learn more and to access actual beach reports and oil leak maps, visit www.mote.org or www.mote.org/beaches.

What can you do to help? Dr Mould concluded our meeting by saying what Mote needs most are donations. The cost is extremely high and they are committed to protecting our water ways and beaches. Donations may be made via the Mote website. Please buy tickets and visit Mote Marine Aquarium, another way to help support our community in this on-going effort. And lastly, visit Florida and the stunning beaches of the Gulf Coast. Support the economies of these amazingly beautiful areas, for that we will appreciate.