Contact

Sharon Tyson - Sharon.Tyson@dep.state.fl.us
Aquatic Preserve Manager
3783 North Indian River Drive
Cocoa, FL 32926
321-634-6148

Description of Site

The East Coast Florida Aquatic Preserves Office is responsible for the Indian River Lagoon (Malabar to Vero Beach), Banana River, and Mosquito Lagoon. The Banana River is part of the Indian River Lagoon complex (IRL), 156 mile long estuary that spans from Ponce de Leon inlet in the north to Jupiter Inlet in the south. Located on Florida’s east-central coast, the IRL is America’s most diverse estuary. There are over 400 species of fish, 260 species of mollusks and 479 species of shrimp and crabs. The Preserve overlaps temperate and subtropical climate zones creating a highly diverse system. Because of this diversity, it was included in the EPA’s National Estuary Program.

Established

The Banana River Aquatic Preserve was established June 3, 1970 by the Governor and Cabinet by resolution. In 1975, the Florida Legislature established The Florida Aquatic Preserve Act as codified in Chapter 258, F.S. The Aquatic Preserves are administered under Chapters 18-20 and 18-21, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.).

Location

The Banana River is situated between the beach barrier island to the east and Merritt Island, a relic barrier island, to the west.
County -- Brevard
Towns – Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, and Indian Harbor Beach.
Roads – The preserve is bordered on the east by highway A1A and on the west by Jungle Trail.

Size

The surface water area of the Banana River Aquatic Preserve is approximately 46.4 square miles or 29,899 acres.

Watershed

The USGS watershed designation is the Indian River Lagoon.

Habitat

The Banana River is long, narrow, shallow estuary that is bordered on the east by a barrier island and on the west by Merritt Island. The major community types are salt marshes, mangrove dominated marshes or swamps, marine grass beds, drift algae, oyster bars, tidal flats, and spoil islands. There are several community types that border the aquatic preserve: salt marshes, coastal strand, secondary dunes, floodplain forest, hydric hammock and urban areas. During the 1950’s and 1960’s most marshes were impounded or ditched for mosquito control purposes. Impounded salt marshes restrict tidal movement making them very susceptible to human impacts. Pollutants that go into this waterbody often remain there for extended periods of time.

Ecological Importance

The Indian River Lagoon generates over $800 million in revenue annually to the local economy. The reconnected mangrove marshes and seagrass beds act as nursery grounds to recreationally and commercially important species, such as snook, grouper, snapper, seatrout, tarpon, and lobster. These are just a few of the many species that spend a portion of their life cycle in the lagoon.

The Indian River Lagoon is a wintering home to many species of migratory waterfowl.

Rare / Endangered Species

State listings are taken from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or, as with plants Florida Department of Agriculture. Federal listings are taken from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. E= Endangered; T= Threatened; T (s/a)= Threatened due to similarity in appearance; SSC= Species of Special Concern; UR= Under review; n/a= information not available or no designation listed; C=Commercially exploited

Geomorphic Features

Banana River, Merritt Island

There are 55 spoil islands located throughout the lagoon. These islands are remnants of dredging the Intercoastal Waterway in the 50’s.

Archaeological Features

The Ais Indians occupied the shores of the Indian River Lagoon for several thousand years before the first Europeans arrived. They depended on the lagoon for transportation and for food. They left behind many burial mounds and trash mizzens. While many of these mizzens were used as fill material for roads earlier this century, some were studied extensively.

Uses

Recreational:

Recreational uses include, but are not limited to, fishing, claming, swimming, boating, and nature appreciation.

Commercial:

Commercial uses include fishing, aquaculture, commercial marinas, and ecotourism.

Education:

Educational uses include field trips conducted by staff and volunteers.

Research:

Research in lagoon is greatly varied. Ongoing research focuses primarily on seagrass health and ecological functions.

Adjacent Land Use:

Adjacent land uses include urban areas, mosquito impoundments, and publicly owned conservation lands.

Management Status

The Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas is the lead management agency. The Governor and Cabinet who were acting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund in September 1985 approved the management plan.

Major management issues currently being addressed are stormwater inputs from canals and other point sources, marsh reconnections, muck accumulations from dead end canals, spoil island enhancements, seagrass surveys / transects, and invasive exotic plant removals.

References

Florida Department of Natural Management. Banana River Aquatic Preserve Management Plan. September 1995.

Indian River Lagoon Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Plan. South Florida Water Management District and the St. John’s River Water Management District. September 1994.