Get to Know All Clams on Deck

All Clams On Deck is excited to announce the launch of their new website to keep everyone fully abreast of ongoing efforts around this important initiative. Who is All Clams on Deck, you might ask? If you haven’t been introduced to this large-scale effort, give us just a few minutes to introduce ourselves and show you this amazing new resource for information on how you can improve waterways around the Gulf coast.

Why Clams?

There is a well-documented problem in the estuaries of Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and Charlotte Harbor here on the gulf coast. The issue at hand is rapidly declining clam populations and seagrass due to pollution, red tide, and other bacteria in the waterways. This crisis is what All Clams on Deck is focused on correcting, which naturally lends itself to the question – why clams? Well, we turn to science to answer this one. Clams can absorb pollutants, bacteria, and even viruses from the water in which they live. This allows for cleaner waters and helps to work towards lowering the impact of pollution and red tide, to name just two issues on our waterways.

The Results

The outcome of restoring the clam populations, and by extension, better seagrass meadows, is improved water quality. This leads to healthier habitats in these waters for both commercial and recreational fishermen and others in the area who enjoy spending time on and around these waterways. Improved water quality is good for the people, the water ecosystems, and the economy of the gulf coast. Visitor populations spend billions of dollars here in our communities to visit these critical waterways. Restoring them, maintenance them, and protecting them for the future keeps the guilt coast economically healthy.

Get Involved

There are three main ways that you can get involved with All Clams on Deck. First, send a letter of support to help the lobbying efforts for 15 million federal funding to model a project restring 650 acres of seagrass and clams on the gulf coast. This is an important first step, but that means we need voices to back this effort. This leads us to you sharing our story with us in your organization, community, and even through social media. Let’s get the word out about this project and build the momentum to start improving our waterways. Of course, these efforts take the money and donating to organizations like All Clams on Deck builds a clear message of concern for the future, continuing to help drive change.

While you might not immediately have thought of clams and economic growth here on the Gulf Coast, these two share a definite connection. Join our newsletter to stay abreast of all the amazing things All Clams on Deck will be undertaking in the coming months. Lend support via garnering attention, writing your stories, and letters of support for lobbying efforts underway. Let’s mitigate the declining clams populations and help stop the decline of these critical waterways today.

Photo courtesy of Deposit Photos