WHAT’S HAPPENING
Sharks and Chablis II
Set aside May 23rd from 4-7 PM to attend
our second annual Sharks and Chablis
fundraiser. There will be jazz and bluegrass
music plus great food and a silent auction.
Tickets for the event are $35.The proceeds will
go toward renovating the red fish building. The
40 year old U shaped tank had to be demolished
in January after years of fiberglass patches
finally reached their endpoint. So far we have
raised $6520 towards the new facility. We
especially appreciate the donated labor from the
sheriff’s office in the demolition. Approximately
40,000 pounds of cement rubble were removed
in just a few days. The debris will eventually be
used in an artificial fishing reef where it will
continue to support big reds and other game fish
not to mention crabs, starfish, shrimp and so on.
Wh
at's Happening
at GSML
Margaritaville
A New Book
Sea Turtles and Whooping
Cranes
New Members and Donations
On the Road
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory
Panacea, Florida
Ph 850-984-5297
www.gulfspecimen.org
March, 2010Date
Vol. 12, no. 1
pg_0002
The King of Margaritaville
Singer Jimmy Buffet came to visit the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab
on January 27th and had a pretty good time in our always laid back old
Florida atmosphere. Having
provided a jacket quote for the
new Rudloe book Shrimp: The
Endless Quest for Pink Gold, he
took out some time from quail
hunting in South Georgia to
check out our scene. It was a
little early to break out the salt
shaker but he was able to help
feed the sharks with GSML
staffer Cypress Rudloe.
A New Rudloe Book
We are delighted to announce the
publication of Jack and Anne Rudloe’s newest
book, Shrimp: The Endless Quest For Pink Gold.
It’s a wide ranging global look at the history of
shrimping, the biology of shrimp and the new
field of shrimp farming. You can get it through
book stores, on line or at the Gulf Specimen gift
shop.
pg_0003
H VE YOU RE D THE RUDLOES’ BOOKS? WE H VE SEVERAL IN STOCK - GIVE US A CALL OR
PICK ONE UP ON YOUR NEXT VISIT!
Endangered Species
Sea Turtles
The record cold weather in January caused some 5,000 sea turtles, mostly greens, to
cold shock and float unconscious at the surface around Florida. One of the worst events was
in St Joe Bay with nearly 2000 turtles. FWC staffers and volunteers worked night and day to
save them by bringing them into warmer water. We hosted 63 greens and 2 Kemp’s ridleys
for a week at Gulf Specimen until they could be released in warmer deeper water offshore.
Two had to be kept at Gulf World in Panama City for further medical care but the rest are
back out at sea.
Whooping Cranes
The second flock of yearling whooping cranes flew into the St Marks National
Wildlife Refuge on January 13th for their first experience of living wild. We are donating
blue crabs and shrimp to help them make the transition from crane chow and grapes to a
natural diet as they learn how to hunt.
THANK YOU!
Welcome to the following new and renewing members
--
David Corbin, Judith Phipps, John
Owens, Maxine Glenn, Jaren Mills, Jeremy Frye, Joan Morris, Jim & Cindy Croc, Anne Lee & Dr.
Carlos Heaton, Richard & Bonnie Fellows, Joe & Susan Ontko, the Haberfeld Family, Mary Alice
David, Jim Calhoun Construction, Dr. Richard Philp, Jasmine McMillan, Suzanne Morgan, Jimmy
Buffet, Tommy Warren & Kathy Villacorta, Rose Marie Brantley, Brooke Pennypacker, Richard &
Jackie Portman, Betty Griffin, Michael Hellburg, David Moynahan, David & Valerie Lahart, Joanne
Taylor, Annette Pearce, Ruth Pestle, Barbara Lineberry, Dr. Robert Knowlton, Frank Court & Abbie
Loomis, Craig & Laura Rodrigue, Debbie Hodges, Ron Kanen, Julius Ariail, Barbara & John Elam,
Brad & Anna Marie Hartman, Delphine and Fred Dougherty,TT
Building Fund:David Moynahan, Nancy Gold, Cecily Aronson, David & Valerie LaHart, Ken & Jean
Wood, Betty Griffin, Joanne Taylor, Annette Pearce, Ruth Pestle, Barbara Lineberry, Jean Morris,
Dr. Richard Philp, Dr. Mary Wickstein, Bill & Patti Causey, Peggy Meserve, Judith Depew, Debbie
Hodges, Jimmy Buffet, Ray Bellamy, Rose Marie Brantley, Nick Baldwin, Disney Fund, Steve Alexander
Sharks & Chablis –Mimi & Bill Douthit, Jim & Kathleen Carr, Jenny Grill & Jean-Marc Wise, Gigi LaBudde, Doug & Tish Beach, Terry
Rhodes, Tom & Arlene Manning
Other Donations: Ron Kanen, Joe & Susan Ontko, Maxine Gleen, Brad & Anna Marie Hartman.
—
pg_0004
A NON PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory
PO Box 237
Panacea, Fl 32346
www.gulfspecimen.org
Festivals
We took our critters on the road to the Steinhatchee Fiddler Crab
Festival on February 13th and 14th and to the Red Hills Horse Trials in
Tallahassee on March 6th and 7th. If you missed that, you can catch up
with us at the Wakulla Wildlife festival at Wakulla Springs State Park on
March 20th, Springtime Tallahassee
on
March 27th or at the Panacea Blue
Crab Festival on May 1st.
The exhibit is usually the
biggest single crowd getter at a
festival with some kids coming back
again and again throughout the day.
We are currently hoping to
raise funds to build a custom trailer to make the logistics of moving sea
water easier and to expand the program into more area schools. With
current budget pressures, it will reach a lot more kids than can come on
field trips to the aquarium.