Gasparilla Island Magazine issue looks at Mercury and Coral Creek
The September/October edition of Gasparilla Island Magazine is out with new feature stories, recipes, shopping and social pages.
Featured stories include a look at the presence of Mercury motors in Florida, the legacy of the Historic Spanish Point, highlights of Old Florida at the Manasota Beach Club, some answers on tarpon habitats (excerpt below), and a glimpse at Eastern European communities in Southwest Florida.
Florida Memory Project photo
The recipes for this edition are a Seafood Trio Pappardelle Pasta from Magnolias on the Bay, and a Rum Runner cocktail courtesy of the newly reopened South Beach Bar & Grille.
The book review for this edition covers local journalist Cathy Salustri’s “Florida Spectacular: Extraordinary Places and Exceptional Lives,” her newest book which celebrates the lesser-known tales of the Sunshine State. A health story offers tips on how to remain physically active after joint replacement, while the history department covers the rise and influence of the sugar cane industry in Florida.
Additionally, this issue highlights the poem “Ode to Boca Grande When It Was Fun” by Kathy Futch in 1990. It also includes a history of Mercury outboards, and MerCabo.
Finally, the September/October edition also includes photos from Boca Grande’s Fourth of July parade, as well as a calendar full of upcoming fall events.
Excerpt from: ‘Coral Creek Offers Answers on Tarpon Habitat’
BY GARLAND POLLARD
On a breezy spring afternoon, JoEllen Wilson (at right) from the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is rolling her ATV off of a flatbed trailer in a back corner of Rotonda, on Boundary Boulevard. Along with us is Mick Aslin, who with his wife Kathy, has been a longtime supporter of research work for marine life in Cape Haze. Aslin has not only been a donor and supporter of the effort, but has been a part of the research, along with hundreds of other community volunteers.
This area is one of the many access points to what is the 35,000-acre Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, which surrounds Charlotte Harbor. Wilson is there to inspect the work she began half a decade before: a multi-year research project that would show how young tarpon could mature safely in these canals. In the process, the research established that endangered and threatened species can figure out new ways to thrive in an altered habitat.
“These are all freshwater canals,” said Wilson, who is officially the juvenile tarpon habitat program manager for Bonefish Tarpon Trust. “Zero salinity.”
It’s clear that the canals are a safe place for the tarpon to grow, but the environment was not well understood at first. Wilson’s research has shown that even though the habitat is fine for the tarpon temporarily, it is not the whole answer.
“The problem with tarpon is that they will find a way to get in,” Wilson said. “It’s just that now they’ve got to create a way to get out.”
