Suncoast Waterkeeper christens patrol boat, expands monitoring program

Suncoast Waterkeeeper knew a more prominent presence was needed on Sarasota Bay. On July 29, the organization christened the new patrol boat at its World Mangrove Day event.

The goal of the patrol boat is to have a more noticeable presence and expand the Eyes on the Suncoast program. 

The organization is part of a larger group called the Waterkeeper Alliance, a group that comprises about 360 like-minded groups focused on monitoring water quality. Suncoast Waterkeeper is one of 15 in Florida, and used to be one of the few without a patrol boat, according to Abbey Tyrna, executive director. 

The patrol boat was funded in part by a grant from the Selby Foundation and the other half from donors.

Tyrna said active patrolling on the water has many benefits to the monitoring program. First, she said it will increase the group's presence on the watershed and allow it to interface more with the community. Having the patrols will increase the work capacity for members of Suncoast Waterkeeper since now they can be on the water responding to various incidents.

Photo by Carter Weinhofe

Through “Eyes on the Suncoast” program, concerned bystanders can report incidents of pollution to the organization, which can then take further action. That could mean submitting a report to the Department of Environmental Protection after investigating the issue. 

Investigating is the key, Tyrna said. If the organization can get to the problem quickly enough and collect water samples, then it has a stronger capability to advocate for future mitigation to fix the impacted areas.

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

“We’re putting ourselves in a position that the next time that happens, we have the team and the tools to do what’s necessary to ensure that we can not only advocate to go beyond just stopping the problem but also get it fixed,” Tyrna said.

At first, the patrols will focus on Sarasota Bay, though Tyrna hopes that will expand in the future. The watershed that Suncoast Waterkeeper monitors runs from Manatee River to Lemon Bay. The goal is to have a presence everywhere in the watershed, Tyrna said. 

More active and efficient monitoring is important because Sarasota Bay is at a tipping point, said Tyrna.

“We know that all these small incidences of pollution are adding up and could tip the scales in a way that we don’t want them to be tipped,” Tyrna said. “We’re hoping that by training the community to keep an eye out for pollution, we can ensure that the tipping point isn’t met.”