Summary [0] | Pensacola Bay [0] | Apalachicola Bay [0] | Tampa Bay [0] | Charlotte Harbor [0] |
Ten Thousand Islands [0] | Florida Bay [0] | Biscayne Bay [0] | St. Lucie [0] | Indian River Lagoon [0]
The Ten Thousand Islands area is considered to be one of the most beautiful parts of Florida's coast. The region is famous for snook and redfish. Tarpon also is popular, particularly in the Everglades National Park area in spring, and there may often be grouper in the area's extensive mangrove forests.46 In 2005, retail sales associated with saltwater recreational fishing in Collier and Monroe counties totaled $412.8 million, supporting more than 7,300 jobs.
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Projected Effects of a 15-inch Rise in Sea Level for the Ten Thousand Island by 2100 Losses of Estuarine Habitats/Beaches: 76% loss of saltmarsh Losses of Freshwater/Dry Land Habitats: Habitat Increases: Species at risk: Download the full report (pdf) [0] |
Although rapid population growth and associated development in surrounding areas have contributed to problems such as altered water flows and polluted runoff into the region's coastal waters, much of Ten Thousand Islands has been protected, and it remains one of the most ecologically-rich areas in the state.
Under the mean sea-level rise scenario, the area of mangroves--the dominant habitat type in this region--is projected to increase by about 16 percent by 2100. However, this mangrove migration takes its toll on inland fresh marsh and dry land, which decrease by 44 percent and 80 percent, respectively. In addition, 76 percent of the area's saltmarsh is lost, and some fresh marsh is predicted to be converted to brackish marsh, which was not initially present at this site.
The most significant effects on fisheries in this area are likely to be on freshwater species that inhabit coastal fresh marshes and swamps. However, the region's saltmarsh-dependent fish such as snook, redfish, tarpon, gray snapper and spotted seatrout, as well as small prey species, also are at risk.