There will be far fewer larger spotted seatrout in the Indian River Lagoon in the coming years because of the die off of sea grass beds.
A couple of weeks ago two anglers wandered into the Lagoon House. Their first words to me were, “What happened to all the sea grass that used to be in the Lagoon? We fished all along these shores from south of Sebastian to north of Melbourne, and the bottom is almost bare. What’s up with that?” I shook my head, and said, “Let me tell you an ugly little story about beautiful green grass lawns.” Now, before we go any farther I must confess, I once had a serious infatuation with green grass. No, I’m not referring to the stuff some smoke, but to the kind that people plant in their yards. See, when we first moved from north of Tampa to Florida’s east coast I owned and operated Clean Cut Landscaping and Lawn Maintenance, a business that a partner and I started in Tampa back in 1977. Much of the service we provided to many of our customers living in the Indian River Lagoon’s watershed was geared toward keeping their lawns lush, green and well-manicured. It was this business that gave us the financial ability to start the fishing guide business we began 1990. What I learned about people and their St. Augustine grass, the primary turf grass of Florida is down right scary:
- Many people judge themselves and their neighbors by the appearance of their lawn.
- The vast majority of these people will do anything possible to have flawless green grass lawns.
- Hardly anyone has the slightest clue how much they are damaging our environment and quality of life, killing the Indian River Lagoon and impacting other significant estuaries and wildlife by coddling their lawns.
When I found out, I felt an urgent need to change my ways, and rid our yard of green grass.
See it is the fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides contributing heavily to the demise of our nation’s greatest lagoon system by destroying the prodigious sea grass beds that have made them world famous for good fishing, water fowl and beauty. Sea grass is the foundation and cornerstone of the Indian River, Banana River and Mosquito Lagoons. Without healthy sea grass, the lagoons will not be able to support the plethora of marine mammals, fish, crabs, shrimp, and other critters depending on it for survival.
There was been a disastrous algae bloom in the Indian River Lagoon. I have seen many my lifetime, but nothing like this. Due to an odd pattern of alternating dry and wet spells, unseasonably warm weather, and an overabundance of nutrients, algae thrived to the point of blocking out the sun light and killing the six types of sea grass in the Lagoon (This link leads to a decent IFAS article, Sea grass Beds of the Indian River Lagoon. Unfortunately UF’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (IFAS) program, with financial backing from the major fertilizer and lawn chemical manufactures, has presented much damaging and misguided information to government agencies against sensible fertilizing ordinances.) Heavy rains reduced the salinity of the brackish water and washed an intense concoction of fertilizer, herbicides, and other contaminants (untreated) into the system.
It is time to “tap out” of this strangle hold. To fix this problem we need to stop coddling this finicky St. Augustine grass. Let’s start changing the way we design our landscapes and treat the environment by making wiser choices about fertilizer use, insecticides and herbicides. Putting it as simple as possible, the more healthy sea grass beds we have the more fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine species we’ll see coming from our waterways.
Written by Captain Rodney Smith.
GREEN GRASS KILLING FLORIDA
Florida’s waterways are in peril. Increasing death rates of bottle-nose dolphins and diminishing populations of marine life are observable evidence that we are polluting our waters. If we don’t take action, the waters will “die” and become algae soups, producing no marine animals and exuding toxic fumes, such as Red Tide, harmful to people. This already has happened in some of our lakes and streams and Tampa Bay came close.
A major source of this pollution is the nutrients found in fertilizer- phosphorus and nitrogen. We Floridians are known to over fertilize and use too much of these nutrients. The excess runs off and ends up in our surface waters. Both phosphorus and nitrogen produce algae, one pound of fertilizer can produce 500 pounds of the stuff. The algae cloud the water and restrict sunlight from reaching the sea grasses. Sea grass is the foundation of most marine life, the nursery and habitat for nearly every living creature. As the sea grass dies off from lack of sunlight, the wild life follows. Algae also consume dissolved oxygen, robbing the marine animals of this essential element. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found, in 2008, that 1000 miles of rivers, 350,000 acres of lakes and 900 square miles of estuaries are nutrient polluted. Our waters are receiving at least 50% more nutrients than they can safely absorb.
The good news is that, by managing our use of fertilizer, we can reduce the nutrient pollution by as much as 30% and have healthier lawns in the bargain. Fact is, most Florida soil is naturally rich in phosphorus and adding more is harmful to lawn health as well as running off to pollute the water. Fertilizer containing water soluble nitrogen tends to run off at the first rainfall or irrigation and is wasted. Slow release nitrogen, however, will feed the grass at a rate that it can absorb while minimizing run off. Fertilize properly using the right fertilizer, zero phosphorus and slow release nitrogen, and doing it at the right time is about all it takes.
You might think this no cost measure to help save Florida’s multi-billion dollar marine industry is a no brainer. Think again. The Florida DEP published an ordinance to manage the use of fertilizer state wide. Good idea, but lobbying and pressure from fertilizer interests so weakened the ordinance that it is ineffective in reducing nutrient pollution.
Over 40 local Florida governments have enacted ordinances that are stronger than the state version. The reported results of these ordinances have been positive in every aspect and the stronger ordinance is being considered by many other locals. But hold on, bills are now working in both the Florida House and Senate to change the state fertilizer laws so that local governments cannot enact tougher fertilizer requirements and will even void some local ordinances already in effect. If passed, to accommodate special interests, these bad bills will allow nutrient pollution to continue to degrade our waters and could result in costs of billions of dollars to clean up our waters in addition to the loss of billions by our marine economy. Tell your state representatives to oppose these bills and tell your local government leaders to enact the stronger fertilizer ordinance. Please do it now.
David Botto, former chairman of Florida’s Marine Resources Council