CLEAN & RESILIENT: Fish Tale Marina gains first SWF designation
Fish Tale Marina has picked up yet another distinction for marine and environmental practices.
The south end island marina at 7225 Estero Blvd. was recently awarded the first Clean and Resilient Marina designation in Southwest Florida and the fourth in the state by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Clean Boating Partnership. The Resilient Marina Program was introduced in 2013.
According to DEP, the Clean & Resilient program builds on Clean Marina practices already in place and provides additional recommendations to strengthen local marinas’ ability to withstand natural and man-made disasters. In definition, resiliency is the capacity of human and natural/physical systems to adapt and recover from change.
Fish Tale Marina co-owner Al Durrett is pleased with the new designation bestowed upon his business.
“I was very happy for Fish Tale to be the first marina in Southwest Florida and fourth in the state to get this designation,” he said. “It makes all of my employees happy to work in a place like this.”
Durrett believes the resiliency part of the DEP program began with the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, also known as the BP oil disaster. That major oil spill impacted the entire Gulf of Mexico and caused more alert to marinas and DEP agencies in those Gulf Coast states to have a sustained plan in place.
“One thing we have at Fish Tale is enough boom to go back and forth across Big Carlos Pass two times over to keep oil from coming into Estero Bay or leaving Estero Bay in case there is an oil spill somewhere,” Durrett said. “We have done a lot of things like this that would help with a future accident, tragedy, tornado or hurricane or anything else that would cause a catastrophe on Fort Myers Beach. We are now more prepared to handle or help with that type of a problem in the future.”
Fish Tale was designated the first Clean Marina in Southwest Florida on July 1, 2003, and became the 67th program in the State of Florida out of more than 2,000 marinas. It already had qualifications prior to the addition of the resiliency part of the dual program a year ago.
“We qualified on this fairly easily because we did all of this back when we became a Clean Marina, although what we did wasn’t part of being a Clean Marina at the time,” Durrett said.
Then there is the sustainability factor. Once a marina attains the stature of being designated to a program of these standards, it’s not something to rest on. Fish Tale continues to work on its clean water practices to make sure of its standing with the state DEP office through re-application on an annual basis.
“We go through a big, lengthy deal on being a Clean Marina, and the Resilient part of it will also be attached to it when we have to renew once a year,” Durrett said. “It’s a lot of work to keep up with this.”
Following the best management practices of the marine industry and promoting regional collaboration on the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico through the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Fish Tale Marina hopes to make a lasting difference in protecting Florida’s waters and to aid in the work of environmental agencies.
“Following the BMPs and being prepared for emergencies such as spills or hurricanes will further prevent environmental impacts,” said Brenda Leonard, FDOT’s Clean & Resilient program administrator.
Last year, FDOT’s “Clean Marina” Program officials recognized Fish Tale Marina as one of 21 marinas praised for a decade of commitment to environmental stewardship as designated Clean Marina facilities.
While the property on the waterside of Santini Marina Plaza has been a marina since 1958, Durrett has had to overhaul pretty much every facet of the marina since he took over operations to attain such a distinction. He was also the first person to join the Ostego Bay Environmental Response Co-op , an oil spill first response program, as a marina business owner.
With more than 1,350 miles of coastline, 50,000 miles of inland and coastal rivers and streams, 700 freshwater springs and countless lakes, Floridians depend on water more than any other natural resource, according to the DEP website. The continued success of the state’s $56 billion tourism industry, its $14 billion marine industry and $6.6 billion fishing industry rely on Florida’s waterways and coastlines to be clean.
To learn more about the Florida Clean & Resilient Marina Program, go to www.dep.state.fl.us/cleanmarina/ or contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Clean Marina Program by calling 1-(850) 245-2100.
To learn more about what Fish-Tale Marina has to offer, go to www.thefishtalemarina.com .
Gulf of Mexico Alliance Clean & Resilient Marina Initiative
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a five-state partnership that has made supporting Clean Marinas and promoting their resilience to natural and man-made disasters a top priority. The Clean & Resilient Program builds on Clean Marina practices already in place and provides additional recommendations to strengthen local marinas’ ability to withstand natural and man-made disasters.
For more information on the Gulf of Mexico Alliance please visit: www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org .
Priorities for Resilient Coastal Communities
Resilience is the capacity of human and natural/physical systems to adapt to and recover from change. To continue to enjoy living and receiving the benefits these coastal areas have to offer, there is a need to make the natural, built, and social environments more resilient by 1) making adjustments to day-to-day living, as well as adjustments to processes of long-term settlement and development of coastal areas; 2) building economic resilience for the Gulf region to sustain and grow the region’s economic prosperity; 3) assessing risks to natural and built environments to future disasters and taking action to mitigate those risks.
-information provided by www.dep.state.fl.us/cleanmarina/