It was called the most devastating environment disaster in U.S. history when the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, but ongoing restoration efforts funded from the disaster are having long-term benefits for boating and fishing nearly a quarter-century later.

One such effort, the Cat Point Living Shoreline restoration project, is located in the environmentally sensitive area of Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, and it has been named by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association as a recipient of a 2023 Best Restored Shores Award. The project has transformed a relatively featureless, disappearing shoreline into a thriving and functional marsh habitat.

Cat Point now features 16 breakwater structures off Eastpoint that protect the shoreline from wave action, flooding and storm surge. Behind those breakwaters, 20,634 native marsh grasses were planted to create and enhance a salt marsh that serves as a natural filter to improve coastal water quality. In addition, boaters and anglers benefit from the marsh, as it provides critical habitat for a variety of juvenile fish, as well as invertebrates like crabs and shrimp. It also provides a protected area for oyster restoration, the trademark product of the Apalachicola Bay region.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as the implementing trustee, has worked with an extensive group of public and private partners on this project, including the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Duke Energy, and the Conservation Corps of the Forgotten and Emerald Coasts, which assisted with planting and educational outreach efforts.

When the Deepwater Horizon exploded in 2010, killing 11, an estimated 210 million gallons of oil and 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersants poured into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling the seafloor and more than 1,300 miles of shoreline in five states. Moreover, it wasn’t until 2015 that BP was finally held accountable and made to pay a $20 billion ongoing settlement over 15 years to restore the trillions of larval fish and untold numbers of sea turtles, marine mammals and birds that vanished. It’s estimated an area of seafloor 20 times the size of Manhattan remains polluted.

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association is dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing coasts by merging science and public policy. In addition to honoring the Cat Point project, ASBPA this year has made a similar ward to four other successful programs: Camp Occohannock, Va.; Kyle Point, Md.; Captain Sinclair’s, Va.; and Lake Pontchartrain, La.

Sea Tow Turns 40

What began when Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer Jr. started a towing service with two boats in 1983 on Long Island Sound is now marking its 40th anniversary as Sea Tow. The towing and assistance company has grown into a network of more than 110 franchised operations with more than 500 boats throughout the nation and in Puerto Rico.

What triggered the idea for an on-water towing service was a law enacted by Congress that directed the commandant of the Coast Guard to make full use of all available and qualified local resources in rendering aid to non-emergency boating calls. Frohnhoefer reasoned that boaters on the waters around the northeastern tip of Long Island might need a towing service. And as they say, the rest is history.

Sea Tow is today a network of independently owned franchises and the largest provider of non-emergency on-water assistance nationwide. And it includes much more than just towing. Whether it’s fuel deliveries or battery jumps, ungroundings or recovery services, Sea Tow operators respond.

In 2006, Frohnhoefer established the Sea Tow Foundation after witnessing what he believed were too many preventable accidents and fatalities on the water. The foundation works with boating communities across the country to provide educational tools and resources to eliminate preventable boating accidents and deaths. In 2022, the foundation opened its 1,000th Life Jacket Loaner Station and now has more than 1,300 located in 50 states.

In addition, Sea Tow franchisees participate in a variety of causes and opportunities to pay back and pay forward, including such efforts as local waterway cleanups, turtle and wildlife rescues, Toys for Tots, Wake the World and many other community events.

A salute to Sea Tow and all it does.