Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 9 May 2017
Florida’s building boom threatens wildlife-rich lagoon

JASON DEAREN time because of the brown overloaded.”
MIKE SCHNEIDER tide. That is doubly alarm- The housing boom was
Associated Press ing, because oysters filter made possible by state
ON THE INDIAN RIVER LA- the water. water agencies and other
GOON, Fla. (AP) — The Last year “was the icing on state and local authorities
most biologically diverse the cake because the fish that permitted develop-
waterway in America is seri- kill didn’t happen in remote ment and allowed the fill-
ously ill. parts of the river where ing in of wetlands.
The Indian River Lagoon is people don’t see it,” said “Going forward, our per-
repeatedly being choked Laurilee Thompson, whose mits aren’t going to repeat
with oxygen-robbing al- family owns the 465-seat mistakes of the past,” Jaco-
gae, its surface increasingly Dixie Crossroads, a seafood by said. “If you build some-
dotted with thousands of restaurant on the Space thing, you have to hold
dead fish, manatees, birds Coast, as the Cape Ca- water on that property ...
and other creatures. naveral area is known. “So so it doesn’t just flow every-
The culprits: farm runoff In this Tuesday, April 25, 2017 photo, a group of condominium now you have a very upset, where.”
stands on the banks of the Indian River in Merritt Island, Fla
and a huge influx of people Associated Press influential populace that’s In the past 20 years, the
that has sent lawn fertilizer going, ‘Do something. Do annual value of the clams,
and other pollutants into goon in recent years, an As- lagoon and three Orlando- something.’” oysters, crabs and shrimp
the lagoon, which runs 156 sociated Press examination area counties that drain The reported number of caught along the lagoon
miles along Florida’s Atlan- found that pollution spiked, into Lake Okeechobee or marine creatures that have has dropped from more
tic Coast, almost to Palm algae blooms spread and directly into the lagoon. died spiked to 1.2 million in than $20 million to $4.3 mil-
Beach, and includes the fish kills worsened over the More than 500,000 new 2011, compared with 7,000 lion, according to regional
Cape Canaveral area. past decade and a half as homes were built in those in 2000, and experts blame planners. The lagoon’s
“It’s the death by a thou- central Florida’s population counties over the same the algae. problems, along with a vot-
swelled faster than that of time period. “In 2011, the world seemed er-approved ban on large
Paved-over expanses such
as roads, driveways and
parking lots have allowed
runoff to make its way
into the lagoon more eas-
ily. It has also been fouled
by wastewater treatment
plants that discharge into
the lagoon, sewage spills
from the plants during
heavy rains, and leaky sep-
tic tanks.
In 2011, an algae “super
bloom” killed more than 1
million fish and other ani-
mals there, according to
In this June 29, 2016 file photo, boats docked at Central Marine In this Oct. 20, 2016 photo, dead oyster shells are seen in the
in Stuart, Fla., are surrounded by blue green algae. state data. Intense algal Indian River Lagoon, Fla.
Associated Press blooms have returned Associated Press
each year since then. Last
sand cuts,” said Bob Knight, anywhere else in the state. year, toxic algae killed to shift and we suddenly nets, played a big role
an environmental scientist Water quality data ana- more than 100,000 crea- got chlorophyll levels we’d in the disappearance of
with the Howard T. Odum lyzed by the AP showed tures, including manatees, never seen before,” said commercial fishermen.
Florida Springs Institute who that the average level of or sea cows. Charles Jacoby, a water Gloopy green algae of-
has studied Florida’s waters phosphorous — a byprod- Now the increased algae scientist with the St. Johns ten surround Capt. Rufus
for 40 years. uct of fertilizers and human are inflicting new types of River Water Management Wakeman’s charter fishing
The lagoon’s woes threat- waste that algae thrive on damage, researchers say. District, a state water agen- boat at the dock. He said
en the region’s $2.5 billion — rose nearly 75 percent Last year, baby oysters cy. “The system has been the sight scares off custom-
recreation, fishing and tour- between 2000 and 2016. died en masse for the first ers.
ism economy, alarming Average chlorophyll read- “When I first moved here,
kayak tour operators, char- ings, used to measure the the river was a pristine en-
ter boat captains, restaura- presence of algae, almost vironment that was pretty
teurs and organizers of bird- tripled. Home to more than much second to none on
watching festivals. 2,900 species of plants, birds the planet,” said the white-
Environmentalists are dis- and fish, the waterway has bearded fisherman. “Over
tressed to see the lagoon’s been polluted since the the last 30 something years,
rich variety of life threat- mid-20th century by fertiliz- the degradation of the In-
ened in a crisis similar to er runoff from farms around dian River Lagoon has just
what has happened in re- Lake Okeechobee, which been horrifying.”
cent decades in such plac- drains into the lagoon dur- “The fish we see suffering
es as the Chesapeake Bay, ing heavy rains. Neverthe- here the most is the speck-
Lake Erie and the Gulf of less, parts remained largely led sea trout,” he said. “We
Mexico. healthy until the recent used to be able to go out
Although the federal and building boom. and catch 20, 30 a day,
state governments have Since 2000, more than 1.5 In this March 22, 2016 photo, dead fish clog the Banana River in and now if you catch one
spent hundreds of millions million people moved into Cocoa Beach, Fla. or two or three you’re do-
of dollars to heal the la- the six counties along the Associated Press ing really well.”q