Millions of clams being dropped along the Indian River Lagoon
This Friday, a specialized drone lifted off from the Old Fish House Bar & Grill in Grant to deliver one million seed clams into the Indian River Lagoon.
Three million more clams will be deployed over the weekend to improve water quality and support habitat restoration during the weekend-long 'Project SeaSafe CleanWater Collective.'
Dr. Todd Osborne with the University of Florida Whitney Lab told us, 'Well, clams are excellent and just like oysters, they filter water all day to breathe.
They're pulling water across their gills, and their gills catch all the algae particles and all that kind of stuff. So that's how they eat.' The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory, The
Coastal Conservation Association Florida, Duke Energy, and Star brite chose their distribution location because of its proximity to the Sebastian Inlet. Osborne said,
'So, our thought is that with the tide coming in and our organisms growing so well when they spawn, they'll transfer their larval clams upriver. And that will be the natural mechanism for spreading them out.
So being close to the inlet helps us disperse the larvae when they're spawning out.'
The clam deployment continues the Billion Clam Initiative, a large-scale effort led by the Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA) in partnership with the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory and Capt.
Blair Wiggins. The initiative deploys clams using state-of-the-art technology to improve water quality and restore ecological balance throughout the IRL.
To date, 50 million clams have been deployed in the Lagoon as part of
the Initiative. The effort will continue Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Old Fish House Bar & Grill, 5185 S, 5185 US-1, Grant, FL 32949.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Axiom-4 launch to International Space Space canceled
SpaceX has scrubbed the Axiom-4 mission that was set to take off from the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday morning. SpaceX says more time is needed to repair a leak found during post-static fire booster inspections. A new launch date has not yet been announced. SpaceX says it will review available dates after repairs are complete. When it eventually goes up, the crew will spend 14 days on the International Space Station. Their experiments will include studying the impact of microgravity on the brain. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX set for Tuesday morning rocket launch from Florida's Space Coast
SpaceX crews are planning to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday morning from Florida. The launch is set for 9:05 a.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch aims to send another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. If the launch is delayed on Tuesday, additional opportunities are available on Wednesday, starting at 8:36 a.m. SpaceX said this will be the 12th launch for the rocket's first-stage booster, which previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, and six Starlink missions. SpaceX plans to land the booster again after the launch on its 'Just Read the Instructions' droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX set for AX-4 crewed launch to International Space Station
SpaceX is counting down to the launch of the Axiom-4 mission from the Kennedy Space Center. Crews moved a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule into the upright position on Sunday. The fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is set to launch tomorrow morning at 8:22. Teams cleared the mission on Sunday after a full launch rehearsal and a static fire test. The four-person crew will spend up to 14 days docked at the ISS. SpaceX said the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations, including human research and Earth observation. If Tuesday's launch is delayed, another opportunity will be open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. After the launch, SpaceX plans to launch the rocket's first-stage booster at its landing site in Florida. The ground landing will create a sonic boom that could be heard by people throughout Central Florida. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
