Summary | Pensacola Bay | Apalachicola Bay | Tampa Bay | Charlotte Harbor |
Ten Thousand Islands | Florida Bay | Biscayne Bay | St. Lucie | Indian River Lagoon

Florida Bay has long been a prime destination for sportfishing enthusiasts. The upper part of Florida Bay falls within the boundaries of the Everglades National Park and is a popular fishing destination for snook, redfish, spotted seatrout and tarpon, and its seagrass beds are essential habitat for young snappers, shrimp and spiny lobster. The Bay's extensive tidal flats also are enormously-popular spots for permit and bonefish. In 2005, retail sales associated with saltwater recreational fishing in Monroe and Dade counties totaled $408.7 million, supporting more than 7,200 jobs.

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Unfortunately, fishing pressure as well as reductions in suitable habitat have contributed to a decline in juvenile abundance and distribution of a number of gamefish species in the region in recent years. In many ways, Florida Bay has been the poster child of conservation problems in Florida. The watershed throughout southern Florida has been extensively altered by the development of dikes, canals and levees in order to convert wetlands to farm land and urban developments, divert water for urban and agricultural use, and control flooding. As a result, the timing and extent of freshwater flows into Florida Bay no longer follow natural patterns, a factor that has caused considerable problems for ecological systems throughout the region.

In response to the serious problems that have plagued the region, both public and private stakeholders have begun investing in a multi-year, multi-billion dollar strategy--the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan--to restore the Everglades system to more-natural conditions. To be successful, however, that effort must factor in the likelihood that sealevel rise and other problems due to global warming would magnify many of the problems that already have been contributing to the demise of the region's ecological systems.

During this century, sea-level rise is predicted to inundate 99 percent of tidal flats in Florida Bay, which are currently a dominant feature. Saltmarsh is projected to decline by 32 percent by 2100, making the Bay more vulnerable to water quality problems and seagrass loss due to polluted runoff. In addition at least half of the small amount of dry land is predicted to be lost by 2100. Species at risk include spotted seatrout, redfish, snook, tarpon, permit, bonefish and yellowtail snapper.