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Nature’s Wonder - The Indian River Lagoon
The Indian River Lagoon is one of Florida’s natural wonders and its northern end begins at Volusia County’s Ponce de Leon Inlet. The Lagoon stretches 156 miles to the south where it ends at Jupiter Inlet. This place where fresh water mixes with sea water is known as “the ocean’s cradle,” an “underwater rainforest” and “North America’s most diverse estuary.”
It is home to more than 4,000 species of plants and animals including sea turtles, seahorses, manatees and a bottle nosed dolphin that lives only in the Indian River Lagoon.
The Lagoon’s many seagrass beds and mangrove mud flats are home also to numerous sea creatures — oysters, clams, shrimp, crabs and fish — who depend on the nurture of this rich and fragile habitat. The lagoon holds one-third of the United States’ manatee population and more than 50 other endangered or threatened species. That and other reasons caused the federal government to name it an Estuary of National Significance.
The IRL is not really a river; rather it is an estuary; a body of water between a strip of ocean-facing …show more content…
Without an estuary you can't spawn and raise as much fish of all kinds - shellfish, sport fish, and so on. Some of the inhabitants just stay right here in the lagoon. Others come here to spawn and end up repopulating the ocean. An estuary is critically important to the overall health of the environment.
Having a healthy fishery from a commercial stand point also adds to the economy. Tourism, fisheries and other commercial activities thrive. Within Volusia County’s portion of the IRL you will find the Intracoastal Waterway, harbors, industry, and a home to commercial and recreational fisheries. Boating, tourism and other recreational facilities also support economic activity that would be greatly diminished if we fail to maintain a beautiful and healthy Indian River
Nature’s Wonder - The Indian River Lagoon
The Indian River Lagoon is one of Florida’s natural wonders and its northern end begins at Volusia County’s Ponce de Leon Inlet. The Lagoon stretches 156 miles to the south where it ends at Jupiter Inlet. This place where fresh water mixes with sea water is known as “the ocean’s cradle,” an “underwater rainforest” and “North America’s most diverse estuary.”
It is home to more than 4,000 species of plants and animals including sea turtles, seahorses, manatees and a bottle nosed dolphin that lives only in the Indian River Lagoon.
The Lagoon’s many seagrass beds and mangrove mud flats are home also to numerous sea creatures — oysters, clams, shrimp, crabs and fish — who depend on the nurture of this rich and fragile habitat. The lagoon holds one-third of the United States’ manatee population and more than 50 other endangered or threatened species. That and other reasons caused the federal government to name it an Estuary of National Significance.
The IRL is not really a river; rather it is an estuary; a body of water between a strip of ocean-facing …show more content…
Without an estuary you can't spawn and raise as much fish of all kinds - shellfish, sport fish, and so on. Some of the inhabitants just stay right here in the lagoon. Others come here to spawn and end up repopulating the ocean. An estuary is critically important to the overall health of the environment.
Having a healthy fishery from a commercial stand point also adds to the economy. Tourism, fisheries and other commercial activities thrive. Within Volusia County’s portion of the IRL you will find the Intracoastal Waterway, harbors, industry, and a home to commercial and recreational fisheries. Boating, tourism and other recreational facilities also support economic activity that would be greatly diminished if we fail to maintain a beautiful and healthy Indian River