Manatee River was once known as “Oyster River” before developers removed the reefs in the 1950s for paving and building material.
As the filter feeders were taken out, more people continued moving in to the surrounding cities of Bradenton and Palmetto — that has increased runoff pollution and lowered water quality for the river over the years.
“Now we have a huge amount of water, fresh water with pollutants, nutrients that are stimulating algae, providing more particles. Bacteria is also added now to this equation,” marine biologist Ernesto Lasso de la Vega said.
The Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency contracted him to monitor the progress of a restoration effort in Palmetto Bay, an estuarine pocket of Manatee River, which flows into Lower Tampa Bay…