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The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
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      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Ecology in Art & Literature

Writing about a bygone era of fishing.

by Mike Plummer November 9, 2010
by Mike Plummer November 9, 2010 0 comment
Mike Plummer WFSU-TV

IGOR chip- employment 150A few weeks ago we posted a video of a blue crab molting, and about the blue crab reproductive cycle.  The man narrating the video was Leo Lovel.  That video was an offshoot of a segment for WFSU-TV’s dimensions program, which we present here.  As a commercial fisherman and restauranteur, many of the species he makes his living off of are residents of Salt Marsh and Oyster Reef habitats.

P1020040

Clay (L) and Leo (R) Lovel outside of their business, the Spring Creek Restaurant.

I heard about Leo Lovel from Rick Ott, a friend of mine who owns a recording studio in Sopchoppy, FL.   Rick was working on a project to record Leo’s books, The Spring Creek Chronicles 1 & 2, to audio files for books on tape or CD.   Rick thought I might be interested in Leo’s short stories about his fishing and hunting experiences around the big bend, dating back to his childhood, so he gave me a copy of the first book. I read some of the stories and then arranged to meet Leo to talk about the books.   At that meeting is where he told me about his idea to publish the All Florida Reader.   Now, Leo’s day job is owner of a restaurant called Spring Creek Restaurant.   It’s a family run business and the Lovel’s have cultivated a very loyal following throughout the southeast over the past 30+ years.   They either catch the seafood themselves or they buy it fresh, only from local fishermen.   It’s a pretty time consuming way to stock a seafood restaurant menu, but it’s the only way Leo Lovel will serve you a meal.

Back in the 90’s, Leo was also a commercial fisherman who was on the front line of the Florida net ban battle.   Although it doesn’t seem like such a long time ago, that era is quietly passing into Florida’s history as those old-timers pass on.   And that’s the unusual value I found in the stories that Leo took the time to put down on paper… these are first hand personal accounts of a specific area and people over a long period of time.   But Leo took his book project a step further.   He turned it into a tool in his personal attempt to help motivate local school kids to “want” to learn to read and write.  That’s the All Florida Reader and I think that speaks volumes about Leo Lovel.

P1020036

Leo's marina at Spring Creek Restaurant. Into here will drift boats carrying what will become dishes in the restaurant.

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