Keep Manatee Beautiful has stepped up to clean up Gilligan’s Island after images on social media showed garbage and debris strewn on the shoreline.
Located across the bay from Holmes Beach’s Key Royale neighborhood on Anna Maria Island on the west and, to the east, at the north end of Perico Bayou just south of the Manatee River bulkhead, the spoil island has been used by recreational campers and boaters for decades.
In recent months, the island has been the site of controversy, stirred by a video on social media showing people living in a makeshift camp surrounded by tents, pop-ups, tables, small watercraft, a generator and other camping gear.
Lewis Whittaker, the man behind the initial camp in the video, was forced to vacate the island after receiving a warning from Manatee County code enforcement in May and a trespass warning from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Aug. 12. The commission order demanded Whittaker dismantle his camp and leave the island.
Whittaker, during a Sept. 19 interview with The Islander, denied the trash left behind was from his former camp.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Hoffman, executive director of Keep Manatee Beautiful, confirmed Sept. 17 that the organization is planning to address the debris issue on the spoil island.
“We will be taking care of the trash on the island within the next three weeks,” Hoffman said. “We work with many partners, one of which is Suncoast Aqua Ventures. They have their reef and beach cleanup in two weeks.”
Hoffman said she reached out to boaters participating in the annual reef and beach cleanup for assistance with the effort. The Suncoast Reef & Beach Cleanup will be 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 22-29 at Sea Breeze Park, 55 Horseshoe Loop Road, Terra Ceia.
The Suncoast Aqua Ventures cleanup is organized by founders Troy Brown and Cheryl Huntsinger.
Brown and Huntsinger, both avid divers and boaters, launched the initiative in 2016 after witnessing the extent of human debris in underwater and shoreline environments.
Hoffman also said Keep Manatee Beautiful volunteers, in partnership with Freedom Boat Club and Compass Hotel and Marina, would remove any debris on Gilligan’s Island that remains after the Suncoast Aqua Ventures event.
“We will take our own volunteers out there and we will clean it up,” Hoffman said. “We are working with Compass Hotels to use their marina and place one of our dumpsters nearby. So it’s a short distance to move the trash. Either way, it should be cleaned up within the next two weeks.”
