Seagrasses and the web of life
Written by Chase Cornell Monday, 10 May 2010 16:50
Every fisherman dreams of catching a world record. A chance to tangle with a beast so cunning and leery that the mere feel in the tip of the rod makes your knees knock. It is a pursuit that has sculpted my entire life. With the Indian River Lagoon as my boyhood play ground, I would tirelessly stalk the flats, mangrove shorelines and winding channels in search of trophy snook, tarpon, spotted sea trout and redfish. There is absolutely no place in the world quite like the Indian River Lagoon.
Saturday, March 6, 2010, my mother invited me to a presentation, “Seagrasses and the Web of Life†at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory. The guest speaker was Dr. Grant Gilmore, one of Florida’s most highly regarded ichthyologists. Dr. Gilmore spent 32 years with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and Dynamic Corp. at the Kennedy Space Center. His resume speaks volumes of his authority on Florida fisheries with over 70 technical and popular papers on fish ecology and life history including reproductive habits of spotted sea trout, snook, groupers, and sharks. Dr. Gilmore is now a Senior Scientist with Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Science, Inc. which he founded in 2004. Perhaps the most interesting fact about Dr. Gilmore is that he has been conducting research in the Indian River Lagoon since the 1970s.
Listening to Dr. Gilmore speak, I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood when the Lagoon was filled with wonder. I was not always sure of how things worked, but I always wanted to learn more; to become more involved. Like so many fishermen, I had lost something that needed to be found.
During the slide show Dr. Gilmore spoke about the original researchers that came to Oslo. They planned to research the wetlands directly across the river. For those who do not know the area, that wet land is now the Moorings, a concrete conglomeration of hundreds of million and multi million dollar homes. With that wetland destroyed, the scientists turned their efforts to the Round Island wetland and the Oslo wetland.
I was shocked to learn that the Oslo wetland is the only wetland left on the West side of the river from Vero Beach to Biscayne Bay. The wetland and the surrounding grass flats are the primary nursing grounds for almost every stock of tarpon, snook and spotted sea trout for the entire east coast of Florida. Even more amazing, the wetland also plays host to Florida’s juvenile bonefish stock.
In research conducted on tarpon, it was found that the fish were breeding in waters off Key West and the larva were riding the Gulf Stream current all the way up to our lagoon and into our wetlands. They then thrive in the anoxic environment, feasting on mosquito fish, and tirelessly prowling the milky, brown waters. Once the fish reach a size where they can survive in the open water, they leave the wetland behind.
I couldn’t help but feel my stomach turn thinking about all the local anglers and guides that have been pushing for an improved boat ramp at Oslo. This was when Dr. Gilmore made the biggest connection for me during his presentation. He said, “It is so unfortunate that I cannot reach out to the anglers. Fishermen spend the most amount of time on the water and they are the ones who are most connected to the Lagoon and yet they do so little to fight for the preservation of their local waters.â€
As fertilizers create algae blooms that wipe out hundreds of acres of sea grass and boat ramps pave over wetlands, it is difficult to point the finger at anyone but ourselves for the decline in local fish stocks. Time on the water is a privilege that my father instilled in me. As ignorant fishermen lobby for ramps, mindlessly pollute, and gaff and net defenseless, cold-shocked snook, I urge those of you that did not stop reading this article after the first paragraph to become more involved. It is crucial to realize that the future of the Indian River Lagoon and every other local fishery is in our hands. I also want to present a challenge: the best fisherman isn’t the one who catches trophy after trophy, it is the one that wants to preserve our fish stocks for future generations. As sportsmen it is up to us to fight for what we hold so close to our hearts. A world record catch could be one cast away.
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