Mosquito Lagoon Seagrass Crisis (Before & After Pictures)
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
- Found In: Conservation, Fishing Tips, Weekly Newsletter: 3-28-21
Isn’t the picture above alarming?
The seagrass has been decimated so quickly!
What was once one of the best places in the world for big redfish and trout is quickly becoming a muddy wasteland…
Watch the video below to see why this is happening and what some of the effects are.
Mosquito Lagoon Seagrass Crisis [VIDEO]
This is crazy!
Please share this with your fishing buddies so we can come together as a community and put a stop to this!
Tight lines!
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In my front of my house is a lagoon
It is full of marsh grass
CanI clear the grass out
Reconnecting Banana Creek with some large box culverts under the launch pad access road is simple, would improve circulation/water quality in those segments of IRL and allow manatees to bypass the barge canal. Shouldn’t be an objection from any user group or agency.
I remember as a kid in the 60s the grass would be so thick especially in Merritt Island and the Titusville area. Some complained because the grass would stink but actually it was a good thing. This was before the net bans too. The building codes are way too relaxed when it comes to riverfront and canals. Parking lot runoff and wetlands destruction needs to be looked at better and halted among many things mentioned. Humans are the cause. With God’s help maybe the cure too.
Common sense says a big box culvert under road…..just south of cucumber island…would allow fresh ocean water in lagoon to help flush it out…..old timers tell me that natural cuts used to open up pretty regularly but not since government took over and built up road on that side…..maybe Salt Strong could get behind it…..
Something that can flush the waterway but be able to be controlled would be super helpful. The problem if an inlet is cut out is that there is no control of water flow and these waterways aren’t suited for tide changes.
I think they have talked about some type of structure they could control……basically what the old natural cuts did ….open up and then close…..just have to get them to “Do”…..not just talk….thanks
Yeah, something like large culverts that have gates on them to open and close.
I’ve been saying this for years
No one listens . They say there will be sediment problems. I say , not if designed properly.
It could be be done without pumps or sediment problems using natural flow that only floods at high tide.
So simple they can’t see it.
I fished the Lagoon back in the 70’s when I was growing up. I never have grown up but that’s a different story all together. While I agree with the nutrient run off issue to an extent, there’s another possible reason for this and/or another contributing factor. That’s the Sea Cows. Like land cows, they eat grass. I’m told one adult sea cow can consume approximately 100 pounds of grass a day. Whether it be 1 acre or 50,000 acres, that land maybe beautiful and overflow with an abundance of grass, but if you put to many cows in that pasture, regardless of the size of the pasture and condition it’s in, it will soon be over grazed. Going back and looking at the growth of the sea cow population since say 1975 and the topographical survey photos may suggest I have a point. Those of us that were born and raised here concur in this theory anyhow.
They definitely don’t help the situation, which is why dead manatees are showing up all over the place right now. Grass loss is at its peak and they’re basically starving to death.
Don’t quote me on this but I heard it was some things to do with the Obama administration and some laws and regulations that they think may have caused this has anyone else heard or read anything about that
It’s all the pro development crowd and it’s the Republicans who are pro growth.
Trump wasn’t in office in 2013 but Joe Biden was. The last time I checked, congress approves these moves.
Growth is okay if done properly. Adequate domestic and commercial sewage infrastructure. There must be sufficient shoreline buffer zones to prevent runoff from developed properties it needs to be a minimum of 100 feet. Parking lots should have permeable pavement. Storm drains should run into manmade marsh areas to allow plants to filter the water naturally. Identify non-point pollution sources. Eliminate sewage overflow (some municipal systems are designed to overflow during heavy rains). Eliminate residential septic systems. Restrict the use of fertilizers and herbicides. Blaming one political party or another for a pro growth policy doesn’t solve any of these problems because both have advocated for growth. If you look at this administrations infrastructure bill there is nothing to address many of these problems and all could be called infrastructure. Everyone, regardless of party affiliation needs to address these problems and fix them ASAP.
Great info Thomas and I couldn’t agree more!
Politicians all talk, say we are going to fix it. Get everybody fired up, than that’s it.
We just have to stay fired up! Again, it comes down to education/awareness. It happens every year. The water turns brown and everyone gets fired up about it. Then in the winter the water clears up and everyone goes silent. Just because it clears up one time during the year doesn’t mean the issue is over. Thats human nature though. To most people, everything is only a problem while it is a problem. If it goes away for a little bit it gets forgotten and people get complacent.
This is very sad, I’m a new member, glad that these issues arise, I had no idea that the ecosystem there is that weak.
Its been a downhill slope for a while now and seems to be getting close to the bottom. Awareness is the first step!
I’ve heard of a bunch of reasons why the grass is gone. Mostly because of how poor the water quality is. Since all the clams were over fished the natural filters are gone. But also I heard since manatees are growing in number all they do is eat the grass. And the mild winters we have had they really don’t leave the lagoon or Indian River. I don’t think the manatees are the problem but they don’t help. Hope those super clams start to take hold and at least clean up some.
So much relies on grass, and when it’s gone you slowly start to see everything else reduce in numbers. Whether it be from them leaving, or dying.
The lagoon holds such a special place in my heart growing up fishing on it and seeing it continue to decline year by year is disgusting. I go there now and it’s a wet desert. I can only hope I’ll get to see that place again like it once was “the redfish capital of the world”
I started fishing the area right before it took a turn. Was a completely different fishery not too long ago.