CCE Mini-Reef Project

Dont get hurricanes in Portugal but Lows that come off the Atlantic and hence the start of a cool and rainy season. 😎😎

Due to the prolific growth of oysters on the dock pilings and the rollers, your mini reef and clean water folks made new rollers. So much fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UarSh3B8Niw&t=18s

Thanks to Siesta Key for sharing with us the underwater sounds of shrimp and oysters as they talk to each other.

Sounds of Mini Reefs making music on the Island of Siesta Key Listen to the sounds of sea life music under the docks on the Island of Siesta Key. By the end of June 2023, Siesta Key dock owners will have installed about...

Thanks to the folks from the Siesta Key Grand Canal Project for sharing their story and helping with water testing instruments and species identification. And our or Tien Le for casting his net. We found lots of shiners near the reefs............evidence that they provide habitat.
We found increasing numbers of fish as we moved from the inner to the outer harbor. We will be sampling monthly.

Mini Reefs been in the water for two years. While the reefs are full of growth, the rollers have their own aquaculture. The rollers are full of seaworms, spiders and all kinds of good fish food. Some rollers pictured here get colonized by oysters.
Thanks to Bob Sauve and Jody Flowers for the topside help.

A filterer at work.

Another dining experience in our Harbor. We recently saw two periwinkles climbing up the seawall trying to escape a Bull Shark
( 4-5' long ) that was on the hunt along the Seawall.
Go Clean Water and more Fish.

We have a new Memorial to Hurricane Ian and the Mariners of CCE. The community raised $5,000 in donations and installed a traditional Compass Rose (solid granite) on the Patio overlooking the Harbor.
It gives the date of the Hurricane and the direction looking down the Harbor (131 degrees) .......and our Latitude (1625 miles North of the Equator) and Longitude ( 6 hours W of Greenwich).
That is so all navigators know how to find their way home!

It looks like Our Harbor is becoming a popular dining experience. Dave Ruff recently photgraphed several Southern Sting Rays near the entrance. It's possible they were feeding on these baby oysters growing on Wayne Robillard's outdrive. Or on the clams that we put in the water last year, or on the Ghost Shrimp that live in the bottom muck. Yummy!

And the winners in the Harbor Photo Contest are: Sheila Macadam for the night scene, Sherry Joyce for the Manatees and Judy McKinney for the Sunset. There were so many photos that showed off our beautiful Harbor, and here are a few more.

Good ideas for clean water spread