A new bridge was built linking Sand Key to Clearwater. The old concrete bridge will be taken down, put on a barge, and dumped into the Gulf of Mexico to become a safe spawning place for fish. Very expensive homes were built on man-made land along the beach of Clearwater, causing a disturbance to marine ecology because the natural mangroves were eliminated. Mangroves, trees, and bushes that grow in salt water are now protected by law.

As we left the marina at Clearwater Marine Aquarium and sailed out into Clearwater Harbor on the aquarium’s own boat, the Island Explorer marine biologist, Joe Malo, acquainted us with those facts. He pointed out how important mangroves are to both fish and fowl. Pelicans were nesting in huge masses in the mangrove trees along the waterfront, where the trees are still intact.

In a small plastic fish tank on the boat, Gladys, Joe’s assistant, scooped out two big live sea horses that had been found on a previous trip out. They were the largest ever found in Clearwater Harbor, measuring about 8 inches. The male sea horse was very pregnant, an unusual situation for live creatures. After showing them around the boat, they were dumped back into the water from where they had been found.

Later, a trough net was lowered into the water. After a few minutes, it was hauled in, yielding lots of mud and all the sea creatures living in that area. Joe said the aquarium has special permission to use the net because he was finding out how much sea life is in different parts of the harbor. Trough fishing is against the law because it catches everything in the water. The net collected slugs, crabs, small fish, and many other live specimens. Joe had the three children aboard show the catch around before it was returned to the water.

We stopped on a small deserted island where we went on land and collected sea shells. I got some beautiful and very heavy clam shells with barnacles and other shells attached to them. Joe said he camps on some of the deserted islands off the coast and enjoys being alone with nature. It sounded very adventurous, if you’re a marine biologist. We then started back to the aquarium while Joe talked about all the publicity the sea horses got in the news while they spent a few days on exhibit in the aquarium.