B ulletin: Once championed as our nation’s most diverse body of water (home to more than 600 species of fish), the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system is in crisis today. She is sick, and some parts of the heralded Lagoon are much sicker than others. Paralleling Florida’s east coast, from New Smyrna Beach to Jupiter Inlet, the IRL, a one-of-a-kind estuary system, has long been considered by recreational anglers as a “Go To” place to catch snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, pompano, shrimp, stone crabs and a plethora of other delicious marine critters.
This has changed. During the past generation (or more) the IRL has been polluted by an overload of nutrient run-off from a combination of residential, commercial and agriculture lands. Heavily laced with nitrogen and phosphorus, this run-off has fueled super blooms of algae, which has smothered and killed tens of thousands of acres of sea grass. Sea grass is the Lagoon’s critical habitat for a wide range of species including fish, crabs and shrimp.
Report: For two days on May 17-18, one hundred IRL Action Assembly delegates met on Florida Tech’s Melbourne campus united in a singular purpose; improving the health of the Indian River Lagoon. The Action Assembly was organized and co-hosted by the Marine Resources Council.
Working in both small groups and as a whole, the delegates drafted and voted on ten action items (whittled down from 100) focusing on a wide range of issues. They include decreasing the flow of nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the Lagoon, inspecting, repairing and replacing failing septic tanks, removal of legacy muck, educating the public on lagoon-friendly landscaping, and addressing storm water rules and regulations.
Follow Up: As a delegate of the IRL Action Assembly, I can see the urgency of financing and implementing the IRL action items drafted at this symposium. The IRL is our nation’s greatest nursery and food provider for many of the inshore and offshore gamefish we recreational anglers target.
Restoring the IRL’s once bountiful resources will take time, financial and community investment, and a united effort to change our old habits of polluting. In the end, government, businesses and we the people stand to gain the most when we restore the IRL’s world-famous fishing.
Best June fishing days: 1, 5/6, 9-19, 22/23, 27/28