January

January

by | Dec 30, 2022 | Calendar Activities - English

January

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23

Theme: Fishing Club

Lake Worth Waterkeeper hosts a monthly fishing club for all kids. For more information view our event calendar.

Fishing license fact – All proceeds from fishing licenses are given to the different programs that are geared towards preserving habitats, proliferation of marine life, educating locals and tourists on the area’s conservation efforts and the like. These programs all aim to reduce overfishing and protect the ecosystem.

For more information on who needs and how to get a fishing license, visit: Florida Fishing Licenses, Laws, and Regulations – https://www.fishing.org/licenses

JOKE
ANSWER
What do you call a fish with no eyes?
A FSH (The word "Fish" without the 'i'.)

Source: http://www.theonlinezoo.com/jokes.html

Source: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/snook/snook/

Natural Area: Ocean Inlet Park

Ocean Inlet Park is a great place to fish for snook in January. Be sure to get your fishing license (https://myfwc.com/license/) and make observations for your phenology wheel.

Source: https://discover.pbcgov.org/parks/Locations/Ocean-Inlet.aspx

Events/Activities: How to use a Phenology Wheel

Historic Watershed Fact

Youth under 16 do not need a fishing license. Join your local fishing club to learn more about fish, natural resources, and sustainable fishing.

Writing Prompt

If you were a fish, what kind would you be? Where would you live, what would you eat, and what kinds of adventures would you find?

Tip for Stewardship

Always bring your reusable water bottle. For more information visit Making the Switch to Reusable Bottles | Office of Energy & Sustainability | Case Western Reserve University

Living fossil: the Horseshoe Crab

Living fossil: the Horseshoe Crab

by | Jan 21, 2022 | Science

Horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are sometimes referred to as ‘living fossils’ because they’ve been around since the Cambrian period over 510 million years ago, and their body structure has changed very little since the age of the dinosaurs (Jurassic period, 200 million years ago).

Keeping this in mind, it’s simply untrue to say that these creatures did not evolve. The horseshoe crab family (Xiphosurida) used to be much more diverse when it first emerged, and it included horseshoe crab relatives with different body shapes such as the extinct boomerang-shaped Austrolimulus and “double-button” Liomesaspis. Despite this, modern horseshoe crabs still have seemingly unchanged body structure from Mesolimulus fossils from the Jurassic period 150 million years ago.

Paleontologists speculate that the horseshoe crab’s body structure hasn’t changed because it found a habitat niche free of competitive pressures that would force them to adapt. Their dome-like shell allows them to remain on the substrate despite wave action and strong currents, while their legs allow them to walk, swim, dig, forage, and mate. What else could a horseshoe crab need?
In other words – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Horseshoe crabs are important for many reasons, one of which being that their eggs are an important food source for fish and migratory shorebirds, while adult horseshoe crabs are prey for sea turtles, sharks, and alligators.

Not only are they important biologically, but they are also important to the biomedical industry for a compound found in their unique, copper-based blue blood called limulus amoebocyte lysate, or LAL. This substance clumps up around bacterial toxins, making it useful to check that medical equipment and injectable drugs are sterile prior to use.

Despite their renowned importance, little is known about Florida horseshoe crab populations other than that they typically spawn between March and November, much earlier than their neighbors in northern states. Horseshoe crabs are currently in decline and with the help of citizen scientists, the FWC has begun documenting important nesting sites. You can be a part of this effort by reporting any horseshoe crab sightings on the FWC website.

Stay tuned for details on our upcoming volunteer horseshoe crab tagging event – This will be happening sometime in March.

horseshoe crab wades into calm water from the shoreline lake worth waterkeeper
‘We don’t want a single drop’: Water conservationists respond to Army Corps plan

‘We don’t want a single drop’: Water conservationists respond to Army Corps plan

by | Jul 20, 2021 | About, LOSOM

Original article: WPBF.com

Several conservationists, including Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reinaldo Diaz, spoke with WPBF 25 News about the Army Corps decision for a preliminary plan Monday, saying it is a big sigh of relief as they feel heard for the first time.

“It’s definitely not a final ‘we are done, we can wrap it up.’ It’s a big step in the right direction,” Diaz said.

The Army Corps decided to go with “Alternative Plan CC” as they write the new Lake Okeechobee operating manual, known as LOSOM, which will guide decisions for at least the next decade.

“I’ve been fighting for this clean water because I want it to be like it was when I was growing up and there weren’t these toxic algae blooms. There weren’t these discharges,” said Mark Perry, Rivers Coalition President and Florida Oceanographic Society Executive Director.

The preliminary plan greatly reduces freshwater flows into the St. Lucie estuary instead sending water south into the Everglades and some west to the Caloosahatchee River.

“We don’t want a single drop,” said Michael Conner, Indian Riverkeeper executive director. “We never wanted a single drop. We were the unfortunate recipients of all this water over all these decades which has had drastic effects on our estuary.”

Photo credit: Lake Worth Waterkeeper

But some said one of the concerns with the new plan is that it keeps Lake Okeechobee water levels too high for too long.

“That unfortunately is not good for the health of the lake,” Perry said. “The Lake Okeechobee needs to fluctuate from dry to wet period.”

For the Indian Riverkeeper, the new plan could mean the revival of industries, which have been impacted by the effects of toxic discharge.

“Kills sea grass,kills our oysters, hurts our economy when people see the cyanobacteria blooms in our water ways here,” Conner said. “You know the fishing industry, the tourism industry, the real estate values all suffer.”

The Lake Worth waterkeeper said he believes the people of Palm Beach County will also see less toxic water coming into the waterways if the plan moves forward.

“This choice of CC is really the first time that we see that we actually have, you know, a meaningful seat at the table and not just participating in public, but they are listening,” Diaz said.

Right now, the Army Corps will move forward with optimizing and tweaking the plan, they will be taking public input until they make a final decision in August.

The plan should become operational in late 2022.

Army Corps of Engineers working to prevent toxic algae

Army Corps of Engineers working to prevent toxic algae

by | Jul 19, 2021 | LOSOM

Original article: WPTV.com

From the C-51 canal to the Pahokee Marina, Palm Beach County has seen a lot of toxic algae this summer.

But after being closed for months, the Pahokee Marina has reopened.

The barriers blocking the road leading to the Pahokee Marina have been removed. People are sitting at picnic tables, and others are walking the perimeter of the marina and fishing again in Lake Okeechobee.

“It was depressing to see it closed, and once that blue-green sludge was out of here, there was no reason to keep it that way that I can ascertain,” said Bob Cartlidge.

The marina reopened Monday after being closed for months because of toxic algae.

Cartlidge has lived on his boat in the marina since 2008. He’s taken pictures of the algae over the years.