Posted on August 11, 2021
Bimini Bay and Lake La Vista inlet in Anna Maria could be prime sites for a clam and seagrass restoration project if Ed Chiles gets his way.
“These clams are more valuable for restoration than as a $16 appetizer in my restaurants,” Chiles told Anna Maria city commissioners.
Chiles made his Anna Maria presentation July 22 and a partner in the All Clams on Deck campaign outlined the initiative Aug. 3 in Palmetto, during a Manatee County Council of Governments meeting.
Chiles owns three area restaurants and a stake in other food-related businesses. He’s teamed up with Curtis Hemmel, the founder and managing director of Bay Shellfish Co., and others to save Florida waters using bivalves.
They developed a plan to seed state waters with mature, large clams that breed more clams and also promote seagrass growth.
Bivalves are one of nature’s water filtration systems especially adept at mitigating nutrients that promote the formation and growth of the algae bloom known as red tide, Chiles told Anna Maria commissioners.
A clam seeding project has seen success in Bradenton Beach, where clams were placed in Sarasota Bay near the Historic Bridge Street Pier in 2019 following a long and intense 2018 red tide.
Chiles told Anna Maria commissioners the clams would not be for eating but rather for restoration, as in Bradenton Beach.
Chiles also asked commissioners to invest $50,000 in a city project, which he said would show an immediate and ongoing return on investment as the clams filter water, making it hospitable to growing seagrass — a vital component to a healthy marine environment.
A key to success would be using larger, sexually mature clams that are predator-proof and able to filter more water at a quicker rate than other bivalves.
Commissioners did not vote on Chiles’ funding request but instead await more information from Mayor Dan Murphy.
Murphy told commissioners July 22 that $50,000 of the $740,000 American Rescue Plan funds awarded to Anna Maria was earmarked for red tide relief.
But the mayor told The Islander Aug. 5 that he is waiting for more details from Chiles, including a timeline for funding and for the project.
Chiles told Anna Maria commissioners he also hoped to involve Holmes Beach in the restoration project and will address that city soon.
A partner in the project, Jeff Sedaka, addressed the council of governments Aug. 3 and outlined the All Clams on Deck initiative.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie chaired the meeting and said the clam project in his city was great.
He told The Islander Aug. 4 that he hoped to see the initiative expand in Bradenton Beach.
