Here’s an example of bigger is better.
The Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department celebrated the completion of the Robinson Expansion Habitat Restoration Project Jan. 29 with ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the Canopy Zone — a rope playground — and the release of 2,000 juvenile redfish into preserve waters.
Parks and natural resources director Charlie Hunsicker led the ceremonies.
Manatee County commissioners, including George Kruse, Carol Whitmore, Reggie Bellamy and James Satcher, attended, as did state Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton.
The preserve is named for Robinson’s father, Bill, who died in January 2020. Among his accomplishments, Bill Robinson Sr. is credited with a role in the establishment in 2008 of Robinson Preserve, where he owned hundreds of acres of farmland destined for a golf club and residential development.
At the first ceremony, Kruse gave opening remarks and cut the ribbon.
“Robinson Preserve is … a testament to how much we in Manatee County care about our quality of life, care about our environment and care about the preservation of our land,” he said.
Plaques were handed to those involved with the project, including employees of Stantec, the engineering services company that assisted with environmental construction and designed the Canopy Zone.
At the second ceremony, Damon Moore, parks and natural resources division manager of ecological and marine resources, spoke about the project’s partnerships.
“That’s what allowed this landscape to change,” he said, adding that growing fish supports the ecosystem and the economy.
Robinson cut the second ribbon.
After speeches about the restocking effort from Coastal Conservation Association executive director Brian Gorski and Duke Energy Florida vice president of government and community relations Melissa Seixas, Robinson and his children walked with Seixas to the water to release the first redfish.
From there, volunteers from CCA scooped fish from the tanks into bags and kids carried the bags to the water.
The $5.65 million, 135-acre project began in 2012. The event marked the official reopening of some areas closed during the final construction phase, which began again in May 2020.
“One thing people don’t realize is that a large part of the project, $2 million, came from federal grants related to the BP Oil spill,” Hunsicker said. “In many ways, this project is a tribute to the lives lost in the spill, both human and animal.”
To revert the land to its natural state — pre-farming — the parks department carved out waterways, removed exotic vegetation and planted native flora.
Recreational amenities at Robinson, including kayak storage tubes, restrooms and trailside shade structures, also were constructed.
Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the preserve every year and a goal of the expansion is to ensure visitors see less of each other and more of nature.
Another goal is strengthening the redfish population, which was decimated in 2018-19 by red tide.
The preserve’s waterways were designed to be shallow marine nurseries to keep out predator fish.
At the event, many people acknowledged the big win for the environment and everyone who appreciates observing flora and fauna at the preserve.
More pics can be found online at islander.org.
Enhancing redfish stocks
The juvenile redfish released at the preserve were reared in Citrus County at Duke Energy’s Crystal River Mariculture Center, a marine hatchery that has cultivated and released more than 4.1 million fish and crustaceans into the Gulf of Mexico since 1991.
Including those released at Robinson Preserve, the Coastal Conservation Association and Duke Energy have sponsored the introduction of 38,000 juvenile redfish into Gulf tributaries to rebuild the species’ population following red tide events in recent years.
By selecting dozens of Gulf redfish for breeding stock, biologists ensure their offspring are genetically diverse and native to the waters they will inhabit.
The goal is to kickstart the spawning cycle, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Corey Anderson.
“We hope some of these fish become big enough to head out to the Gulf to spawn,” Anderson said. “Their eggs will drift back inshore and the cycle will begin again.”
— Kane Kaiman