Weekly News Digest from Mote
| Friday's News@Mote: 1-11-13 | | |
| Published Friday, January 11, 2013 |
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| Quick Links: Mrs. Bush Hails Mote Office Opening • Newly Published Study Shows Detrimental Effects of Deepwater Horizon Oil and Dispersent • Street Named for Mote Namesake • Mote Caviar Served at New Waterfront Restuarant at The Ritz |
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Former First Lady Hails New Mote Office on Boca Grande
During Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony |
| • Dates Also Set for Upcoming Mote-Boca Grande Lecture Series |
| Former First Lady Laura Bush hailed Mote Marine Laboratory’s new satellite office on Boca Grande as an important resource for ocean conservation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 9. |
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Pictured from left to right, front row: Porter Goss, Former Congressman and CIA Director, Capt. Mark Futch, Capt. Phil O'Bannon, Mote Board Member Judy Graham, Mote Founding Director Dr. Eugenie Clark, Former First Lady Laura Bush, Dr. Michael Crosby, Mote Senior Vice President for Research, Former Senator Connie Mack III.
Pictured from left to right, back row: Former Congressman Andy Ireland, Mote President & CEO Dr. Kumar Mahadevan and Melissa Putnam. |
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The ribbon cutting marked the opening of the office, which is designed to be a place where residents and visitors can learn about Mote’s current and proposed marine research programs in Charlotte Harbor, as well as all the research, education and outreach programs that Mote undertakes from its main campus in Sarasota. More than 100 people attended the event, including children from the Island School, which visited Mote’s Mobile Exhibit on hand for the event.
“I understand, like all of you, the pressures on the Gulf of Mexico,” said Mrs. Bush, a Texas native and part-time Boca Grande resident, who has been an advocate for ocean conservation since former President George W. Bush designated the first-ever National Marine Monuments, creating 350,000 square miles of protected underwater areas.
“The Gulf of Mexico is a dynamic marine and coastal environment utilized by tens of millions of people…Mote Marine Laboratory’s new satellite office here will be an important resource for current and proposed research that will help Charlotte Harbor remain one of the state’s — and even the nation’s — healthiest estuaries… Your efforts will protect this beautiful part of the country for our children, our grandchildren and even our grandchildren’s grandchildren.”
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Dispersant and Oil from Deepwater Horizon Toxic to Baby Corals,
Says New Mote Marine Laboratory Study |
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“Baby” corals of at least some species are vulnerable to Deepwater Horizon oil and are especially likely to die when exposed to dispersants used during a spill, according to a lab-based study by Mote Marine Laboratory scientists published online Jan. 9 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.
This study is the first controlled test of how Deepwater Horizon oil and the dispersant Corexit® 9500 affect coral larvae — drifting offspring of corals that must settle and grow to maintain and expand reefs. While the study focused on two coral species from the Florida Keys — an area not directly impacted by the spill — the results highlight concerns about corals nearer to the spill site and provide new insights for mitigating oil spills near reefs.
(The coral larvae in this study were collected under the government research permit FKNMS-2010-080-A2 issued by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Coral reefs within the Sanctuary are protected by federal law.)
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Mountainous star coral (Montastraea faveolata) spawns, releasing sperm and eggs that will combine to produce babies, or larvae, which in turn will settle to form new corals. (Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
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| New Street Name at Mote’s Fish Farm Honors Lab Namesake |
Mote Marine Laboratory’s sustainable fish farm now has its own street named WR Mote Way — a tribute to William R. Mote, the benefactor and namesake who helped the Lab become a world-class marine research institution.
The address was approved by Sarasota County and a street sign was installed this week near the entry gate for Mote Aquaculture Park, the fish farm and research facility off Fruitville Road. The new postal address is 874 WR Mote Way, Sarasota, FL 34240.
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Mote’s main Lab and public outreach facility, The Aquarium, are located on City Island, Sarasota. Mote Aquaculture Park is not open to the public.
“It’s great that Sarasota County has approved the new street name and helped us honor Mr. Mote, who provided incredible support and his family name to the Lab in its early years,” said Mote President and CEO Dr. Kumar Mahadevan. "Mr. Mote's first love at the Lab was our aquaculture programs, and I was privileged to be his friend for years, until he passed away in 2000."
Mote was founded by renowned “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in 1955 in Placida, Fla. In 1960 the lab moved to the south end of Siesta Key and in 1967 the lab adopted the family name of Mr. Mote — a Tampa native, successful transportation executive and avid fisherman who wanted to use his retirement and energy to do something worthwhile connected to the sea he loved. In 1978 the Lab moved to its current home on City Island, Sarasota.
Since Mr. Mote passed away, his legacy has helped the Lab continue growing and breaking new ground in marine science, education and outreach. Today, Mote has nearly 200 staff, including researchers who study ocean ecosystems all over the world, and about 1,600 volunteers. The Aquarium at Mote brings marine science to life for about 360,000 people per year, and Mote’s education programs for all ages and traveling exhibits also reach hundreds of thousands.
The Aquaculture Park is home to Mote’s Marine and Freshwater Aquaculture Research Program, which develops technology for raising fish sustainably for seafood production and for enhancing or restoring wild populations of key species like snook and pompano. The Park uses recirculated water to raise marine fish more than 17 miles inland, and it uses fish waste to grow plants for environmental restoration.
The Park also raises Siberian sturgeon to produce eco-friendly Mote Farm-Raised Caviar, which is sold through distributors, stores and fine restaurants across the nation. Online at motecaviar.com |
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| Mote Caviar Featured at Jack Dusty, Sarasota’s New Waterfront Restaurant |
Sarasota’s newest seafood restaurant, lounge and marketplace will feature Mote Farm-Raised Caviar when it opens its doors to the public on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013.
According to Jack Dusty management, the restaurant features “affordably priced delicious food and drink in a stylish, unpretentious setting,” bringing a refreshing new dining option to Sarasota foodies, locals and visitors.
The menu at Jack Dusty — which is located at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota — will offer modern American cuisine with a seafood sensibility.
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- Click the image to watch a video, or visit us online at motecaviar.com
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A vast array of raw bar and appetizer offerings ($14 - $20) are perfect for a post-work nibble or pre-dinner starter and include local caviar featuring Mote Farm-Raised Sturgeon Caviar. The menu also features fare like crab and fried green tomatoes with charred tomato vinaigrette; a tasty grouper cake with mango beurre blanc and fruit salad; burrata & tomato salad, served with oven-cured tomatoes and arugula; as well as selections of local, Northeast and Northwest oysters. Jack Dusty is located in The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Sarasota.
For more than a decade, Mote has been perfecting Earth-friendly techniques and systems to farm raise Siberian sturgeon caviar. Our idea was to create a sustainable source of seafood that would provide an alternative source to wild-caught fish and remove fishing pressure from those wild stocks in the process. For Mote Caviar, sustainability also means savor-ability.
Mote Caviar was recently praised by Chef Daniel Boulud, one of the most revered French chefs in New York, after he sampled it during the Palm Beach Food and Wine Fest. Mote Caviar is also available in Whole Foods Market Florida stores and at Costco’s Sarasota location. |
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Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 research organization based in Sarasota, Fla., with field stations in eastern Sarasota County, Charlotte Harbor and the Florida Keys. Donations to Mote are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 
Mote is dedicated to today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans with an emphasis on world-class research relevant to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources. Research programs include studies of human cancer using marine models, the effects of man-made and natural toxins on humans and on the environment, the health of wild fisheries, developing sustainable and successful fish restocking techniques and food production technologies and the development of ocean technology to help us better understand the health of the environment. Mote research programs also focus on understanding the population dynamics of manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and coral reefs and on conservation and restoration efforts related to these species and ecosystems.   Mote’s vision includes positively impacting public policy through science-based outreach and education. Showcasing this research is The Aquarium at Mote, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days a year. Learn more at www.mote.org.
Contact: Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236. (941) 388-4441 or info@mote.org. |
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Media Contact: Hayley Rutger, public relations coordinator, 941-374-0081 or hrutger@mote.org |
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