Volunteer Training Opportunities to Help Protect
Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve from the Threat of Oil Spills

Tampa Bay Watch, in conjunction with the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve program, have trained volunteers over the last ten years in environmental and health impacts of oil, safety precautions and boom deployment in the event of an oil spill. Currently, program partners maintain 6,000+ feet of boom at Cockroach Bay that will be deployed if needed to protect the Aquatic Preserve.

Training programs for community volunteers interested in supporting the pre-positioning effort if needed are planned as follows (Reservations are required by Tuesday, May 11):

Cockroach Bay Response Planning
Indoor training session: Oil boom handling techniques, hazards of oil spills and exposures at the Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center, 3000 Pinellas Bayway South, Tierra Verde, FL 33715 – May 12th @ 6:00 p.m. (Register online.)

Cockroach Bay Response Field Exercise
Hands-on boom handling and deployment, field requirements at Cockroach Bay Boat Ramp, Cockroach Bay Road, Hillsborough County – May 13, start time 5:30 through 7:30 p.m. (Register online.)

Due to the large amount of interest in the program, community volunteers will need to pre-register at the Tampa Bay Watch website. Volunteers for the oil boom pre-positioning program will be selected to participate based on training and experience. Oil booms will be deployed utilizing a corps of trained community volunteers. These dedicated individuals will receive training in oil spill response and boom deployment, and will need to acquire training in First Aid and CPR. The volunteers will learn how to deploy, monitor and maintain the boom in the event of a spill. There is a need for volunteer boat captains with a good knowledge of the Cockroach Bay/Little Manatee River area. There will also be opportunities to work on shore, and to crew on boats. Click here to register online.

Tampa Bay Watch Board of Directors and program staff continue to work with the myriad of agencies and organizations involved with the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The best information available to date continues to indicate that at some point the oil will become entrained in the Gulf Stream at some point. The material will then start to ride the currents south through the Florida Straights (Keys and Cuba) up the East Coast to the Carolinas. Once the material starts to move south, weather potentially will move some of the material towards our coast. Since it may take a week or two for the light crude oil to travel the 200+ miles to our shores, the material becomes weathered, losing much of its toxicity, and will come ashore in the form of tar balls or putty consistency. They do not expect to see the traditional "slick" of oil. The weathered material will pose a hazard/nuisance primarily because it will stick to everything -- not only on the beaches, but birds and other wildlife will try to clean the material off and end up ingesting the tar like material.