Mosquito Lagoon - Edgewater, Florida

Where: 859 Pompano Ave. (off U.S. Highway A1A, 7 miles south of The Islander resort), New Smyrna Beach.
Call: 386-427-5747.
The lowdown: A local ultra-casual favorite, with dining inside or out. Its location offers great sunsets and Kennedy Space Center launches. Quality of the food runs hot and cold, but the dive ambience is classic Florida beach and river bar. Stick with fish sandwiches and burgers and try the clam chowder. If you order steamed crab legs, ask for the seasoned melted butter they call “jungle juice.”
The background: This place is indeed a fish camp with a bait shop. You can rent kayaks here too and explore Mosquito Lagoon.

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Boaters, anglers asked to report invasive jellyfish

By DINAH VOYLES PULVER  June 27, 2009 http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Enviro/bchEAST06ENV062709.htm
Environment Writer

Boaters and fishermen in Indian River Lagoon may encounter an unusual creature this summer — an exotic jellyfish that can grow as big as a basketball.

Many sightings of the invasive Australian spotted jellyfish have been reported recently in the Melbourne area. Officials with the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program ask anyone who sees the voracious jellyfish — which may devour the eggs and food supply of native fish species — to call and report it.

“Any information the public can provide can help us determine the size of the spotted jelly population in the estuary,” said Robert Day, a biologist with the estuary program.

Day’s colleague Lauren Hall has flown over the lagoon trying to estimate the size of the latest jellyfish invasion. However, from the aircraft, it’s hard to distinguish between Australian jellyfish and the native moon jellyfish, Hall said earlier this week. The exotic jellyfish also resembles the native cannonball jellyfish.

Australian spotted jellies began moving away from their native range in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean decades ago. First, they appeared off the Southern California coast. Though the first sighting in the Gulf of Mexico wasn’t reported until 2000, jellyfish expert Monty Graham suspects they’ve been in the Gulf since the mid-1990s.

They were first seen in Mosquito Lagoon in 2001. They’ve since been found in coastal waters from Louisiana to North Carolina.

Graham, a senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, said the jellyfish probably traveled as polyps on the hull or in ballast water of ocean-going vessels.

At times, only a few are noticed in the Gulf. But they also can appear in huge numbers, clogging the nets of commercial fishermen and shrimpers. So far, Australian jellyfish blooms in the lagoon have been far smaller than in the Gulf.

Scientists aren’t sure what triggers massive blooms but say it could be changing ocean currents or the availability of nutrients such as fertilizer.

Ravenous creatures, the jellyfish consume large numbers of fish eggs, larvae and plankton, Graham said. And that worries Day, Hall and others who monitor species in Mosquito Lagoon, one of the most biologically diverse and productive fish nurseries in the world.

Studies have shown jellyfish sometimes take advantage of food supplies in an area where fish populations have been decimated by overfishing. And some scientists, including Graham, say large numbers of jellyfish may indicate poor health in an ecosystem due to pollution or an unusual change in water temperature.

dinah.pulver@news-jrnl.com

If you think you’ve seen an Australian spotted jellyfish, note the place, date and time of the sighting, as well as how many jellyfish were seen, and call 321-984-4950. Australian spotted jellyfish

Range in size from a human fist to a basketball

Weigh as much as 25 pounds

White, semitransparent to opaque bell shape, with frilly arms and white spots on the bell

Filter more than 260,000 gallons of water a day

Experts worry the jellyfish could consume large numbers of fish eggs in Mosquito Lagoon.

Tags: Jellyfish problem at Mosquito Lagoon

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By Rachael Dickson, Contributing Writer http://www.lakeshoretimes.com/articles/2009/07/20/rowlett_lakeshore_times/news/9422.txt

McKenna McGough, 10, first met Winter, a bottlenose dolphin at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, two years ago when her family was on vacation.

Winter nearly died after getting caught in a crab line which in December 2005 when she was three months old. She was rescued from Mosquito Lagoon, near Cape Canaveral, but lost her tail and two vertebrae from her back. Afterwards, Winter could barely swim in her new home at Clearwater, a rescue, rehabilitate and release facility for marine wildlife, but instead waggled back and forth, which damaged her spine and gave her scoliosis.

Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc. has worked with Winter for years to develop a prosthetic tail to allow her to swim with a typical up and down dolphin motion. The company, which donates its time and materials to the aquarium, often revamps Winter’s tail with new technology.

The dolphin wears a gel-filled sleeve that connects to a prosthetic tail with stainless steel joints and energy returning cables. The gel developed for Winter has proven to be useful in prosthetics for human amputees as well.

McKenna has worn a hearing aid since she was five years old. She used to dislike wearing it because of the questions people would ask.

When McKenna first met Winter and saw her prosthetic tail, she said that she thought, “Wow, she’s just like me.”

McKenna has seen Winter five times since.

“She came home and talked about her so much that we went out there twice with my mom so she could see her,” said Stacy McGough, McKenna’s mother.

McKenna’s parents realized after their third trip to see Winter that McKenna no longer fought wearing the hearing aid.

“Winter made me realize that it’s OK,” McKenna said. “She helped me not to be embarrassed about wearing a hearing aid.”

McKenna wanted to do something for Winter, so at her mother’s suggestion, she decided to donate all the gifts from her 10th birthday party to the dolphin.

McKenna brought gifts including non-toxic bubbles, hula hoops, and balls to Winter and the other animals at the aquarium in June. She also gave non-toxic paint, which the dolphins and otters at the aquarium use to create paintings with the help of a brush in their mouth. McKenna owns two dolphin paintings, including one by Winter.

Winter has inspired McKenna to become a dolphin trainer. She recently began working toward her goal by attending an Animal Encounter camp at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. When she walked up to Winter’s pool, the dolphin recognized her and swam up to her immediately, despite her usual shy nature. Winter can see colors such as McKenna’s bright red hair and certain lighter colors.

The trainers at the aquarium all recognize McKenna now, and as a treat, they let her get in the water with Winter and practice giving commands.

“When I gave her a long hug, she put her head on my shoulder like a little baby,” McKenna said with a grin, wearing a dolphin tail necklace proudly.

McKenna dressed up as a dolphin trainer for Halloween, and went trick-or-treating accompanied by her dog, who sported a dolphin costume. The dog’s costume did have a tail despite McKenna’s wishes, so neighbors would not be confused.

“McKenna wants to take all the tails off every dolphin she has and turn them all into Winter,” Stacy said.

Tags: Mosquito Lagoon Dolphin Rescued

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Mosquito Lagoon is an estuary located within the Canaveral National Seashore. The estuary is designated as an Outstanding Florida Water by the State of Florida. It is both heavenly for fisherman and a paddler’s paradise.

The Mosquito Lagoon is a perfect venue for kayakers. Not only because of the setting, but the weather is gorgeous.

Canaveral National Seashore was created by an act of Congress on January 3rd, 1975. The park contains 58,000 acres of barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flatwoods and offshore waters along the east central coast of Florida. It represents an excellent example of a relatively stable barrier beach backed by a productive lagoon system.

The park’s 24 miles of undeveloped beach is the longest such stretch on the east coast of Florida. Mosquito Lagoon, which comprises over two-thirds of the park, is a part of the 155-mile long Indian River Lagoon (IRL), an Estuary of National Significance. The IRL is considered the most diverse and productive estuary in North America. Mosquito Lagoon supports nationally-recognized commercial and recreational fisheries for finfish, clams, oysters, blue crabs and shrimp. The park provides habitat for 14 federally-listed (Threatened and Endangered) animal species, ranking it second in the entire National Park Service. Three sea turtle species deposit approximately 4000 nests on the beach each year. Large numbers of waterfowl and wading birds utilize the Seashore as a migratory stopover and wintering ground. Located along the “frost line”, the park contains a rich and unique mixture of subtropical and temperate plants found nowhere except central Florida.

Tags: Kayak Mosquito Lagoon

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Tags: Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon

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Tags: Mosquito Lagoon Fishing

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What is a Mosquito Lagoon ecosystem?
Ecosystems may be defined as communities of plants, animals and microorganisms found within a particular area, interacting with each other, and with the environment.  Hence, the term “ecosystem” encompasses both the biotic and abiotic components of a particular environment.  Ecosystems are complex and dynamic entities that use energy, produce wastes and recycle nutrients. All ecosystems, be they marine or terrestrial, are interconnected;  what occurs in one ecosystem affects the dynamics of another.  Collectively, all ecosystems make up the biosphere, or zone of life, which occurs in the thin outer layer of the Earth’s surface.

In most ecosystems, energy from the sun is the initial energy source that powers growth in plants and algae. Plants are autotrophic, meaning they are self feeding. The mechanism of photosynthesis allows plants to take in light energy from the sun and convert it into the chemical energy stored in sugars and other carbohydrates produced by plants. Because production by plants forms the base of all food webs in an ecosystem, and provides food for all other organisms, it is also called primary production. Thus, plants are the producers in ecosystems. Consumers in ecosystems cannot produce their own food, so must rely on ingesting other organisms in order to obtain their energy. Consumers that eat only plants are called herbivores; those that eat only other animals are called carnivores; and those that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores. Decomposers in ecosystems, such as bacteria and fungi, assist in recycling nutrients by breaking down the complex organic molecules in dead plant and animal tissues into simpler substances that can be made available for reuse.

Each time one organism consumes another, some of the energy from the ingested organism is then taken up by the consumer. This transfer of food energy from one organism to another is commonly referred to as the food chain. Rarely, however, is this energy transfer a simple, direct process. Rather, it can be highly dynamic and complex since most organisms eat more than one type of food and are therefore involved in more than one food chain. The term food web more accurately describes the complexity of food energy transfers between organisms, and the process of nutrient recycling within ecosystems.

What is a Mosquito Lagoon habitat?
A habitat can be defined in general terms as the specific place in an environment where an organism lives. Terrestrial and marine environments each have distinct characteristics that determine whether a specific organism will be found there. A close look at any area along the Florida coast reveals a number of different habitats. In deep, offshore waters, a unique Oculina reef, found no where else in the world, runs from Ft. Pierce to Daytona. Nearshore reefs composed of coquina rock and sabellarid wormrock are quite common in some coastal areas. Along the barrier island system in east central Florida, sand dunes along the shoreline abound, and can be further subdivided into foredunes, dune crests, swales, and secondary dunes. Inland of the dune system lie the scrub zones and maritime hammocks that have been built upon stable backdunes. Beyond hammocks, the land begins to fall toward the Mosquito Lagoon where the mangrove fringe is located. Mangrove areas border both the east and west margins of the lagoon along most of its length. Within the lagoon itself are various submerged aquatic habitats such as seagrass beds and oyster reefs, as well as the many spoil islands which arose as the result of dredging in the lagoon. Beyond the mangrove fringe are the fresh water swamps, hardwood hammocks, and upland forests that characterize interior Florida.

Tags: Mosquito Lagoon Habitats

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CANAVERAL NATIONAL SEASHORE — Centuries ago, American Indians piled oyster shells into mounds to form high ground. The shells later served as beds for some of the region’s earliest roads.

Today, plastic mats lay the foundation for an oyster-reef revival in northern Mosquito Lagoon.

Wakes, pollution and overharvesting left the reefs here a shell of their former health.

But after almost three years in the water, the oyster mats that University of Central Florida biologist Linda Walters conceived and volunteers weave are now indistinguishable from nearby natural reefs. These zip-tied habitats have yielded unexpected results, including new seagrass beds and more than 315,000 new oysters.

“Just the water-filtering capacity we have added here is huge,” Walters said, as she stood knee-deep next to one of her mat reefs, where adult oysters clean up to two gallons per hour. That’s 15 million gallons per day from the new oysters.

Walters and other reef revivers hope Walters’ vision can win $4.2 million in federal stimulus funds to place the mats elsewhere. The Nature Conservancy applied for the money through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expand the oyster-mat restoration project to Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach.

“A lot of other people are talking to us,” Walkers said. “It is a big commitment to do all of this. You have to have somebody with the heart to run this.”

Decades of channeling the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee into the Indian River Lagoon added too much fresh water at the wrong times, and also muck that helped kill off oysters.

Overharvesting and pollution played a role, too.

But in this remote stretch of Mosquito Lagoon, studies proved boat wakes, more than storms or pollution, eroded the reefs. Near frequently traveled channels, constant wakes also prevent free-floating oyster larvae from attaching to the reefs.

Oyster reproduction here is all about getting the “spats” to the mats.

Biologists say the empty shells put out chemical cues that trigger oyster larvae to attach. The tiny ones that do, just a few centimeters long, are called “spats.”

Walters’ mats now number at least 10,000. They provide a shell foundation for 29 reefs that restored about an acre each of oysters, seagrass and other habitats.

Volunteers on land make the mats, each with 36 shells.

Initially, volunteers on water spent hours raking out hardened mounds of shell to create proper elevation for the mats. But this year and last, Volusia County Mosquito Control offered its amphibious excavator to rake the mounds and backhoe shell to a barge.

“We call it the ‘marginator,’ ” said Anne Birch of The Nature Conservancy, major sponsor of the project. “It has transformed the restoration.”

Students, Boy Scouts and even big corporations get in on the oyster-mat action.

This recent day in June — prime “spat” time — Debbie Kelly of Rockledge and Bill Hosch of Merritt Island, both Boeing Co. employees, raked and tied under a sweltering sun. The company already had been involved in latching the mats on land.

“We wanted to see the next step,” Kelly said.

While oyster harvesting is allowed in Canaveral National Seashore, with proper permits, Walters’ reef is off-limits.

“What we’re trying to do with this project is try to restore habitat rather than create oysters for commercial harvesting,” said Troy Rice of St. Johns River Water Management District. “I think it’s been very successful. I could see it working in other areas in the lagoon.”

Rice’s program gave $37,500 to date in federal and license-plate revenue toward the project and has budgeted another $82,500 in plate money for next year. They also await word on a $50,000 state grant.

The $305,000 effort so far — about one a third of it federally funded — is one of many ways scientists and volunteers hope to help eastern oysters regain a foothold in American estuaries. Oyster harvests in the United States declined nearly 99 percent since the late 1800s.

Elsewhere, biologists have tried oyster shells in mesh bags, clamshells, even crunched-up porcelain from old toilets, anything to help larvae take to the reef.

Tampa Bay uses “reef balls,” concrete structures oysters can cling to. Others in Estero Bay use oyster shell in bags to bulk up reefs.

All the efforts seem to be paying off, says Aswani Volety, professor of marine science at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“I’m optimistic. Would we be able to wind the clock the back 100 years? Probably not,” Volety said. “But could we make it much better than it is today? Absolutely.”

Contact Waymer at 242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090622/NEWS01/906220314

Tags: Mosquito Lagoon Oyster Habitat

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Restaurant back from weeks of renovation

By KELLY CUCULIANSKY
Staff Writer news-journalonline.com

OAK HILL — Change is afoot at Goodrich Seafood, but the owners pledge to keep the waterfront restaurant’s history and character alive when it reopens after renovations are complete.

The town’s iconic restaurant, in business about 38 years, opens Friday after being closed for a six-week improvement project, including new paint, windows, doors, kitchen equipment and landscaping. While the business has new owners, the property has been owned by Miami Dolphins great Larry Csonka since 2006.

It may have been “due for an update,” said Dan Cooper, one of the business owners. But Goodrich Seafood, 253 River Road, will continue to have the rustic atmosphere for which it’s always been known.

“Having a good ole’ time and drinking beer will not change,” he said, as workers continued finishing touches on a hot Monday morning. “It’s still going to be home-cooking.”

The renovation has cost about $20,000 in materials and required about 500 hours in labor, said Cooper, who has partnered with Joseph and Becky Horschel of Indian Harbour Beach.

Joseph Horschel, a state certified general and roofing contractor, and Cooper have done much of the work themselves, beginning their 13-hour days as the sun rises over the Mosquito Lagoon.

Cooper retired from the electronics industry in 2001 and has been involved in two other bar and restaurant operations, he said.

“My ambition was to some day have the opportunity to be involved in this place,” said Cooper, a local resident who grew up in New Smyrna Beach.

With the doors closed for several weeks, he said curiosity has caused at least 100 people to slow down or stop by and ask what’s going on at the restaurant, sandwiched between a bayou and the intracoastal waterway.

“The townspeople are in awe of how quickly the remodeling has happened,” he said.

While the restaurant will continue to feature bulletin boards with photos of locals and their catches, the wall decor will feature historic photos. And it sounds like the public is willing to help, Cooper said.

“People have stopped in and said ‘Oh, I got some stuff I want to bring to you,’ ” he said. “It’s amazing how anxious people are to support us.”

The Goodrich fish house has a rich history that dates back to the 1920s or 1930s, when the first one was built along the river. In 1971, Jim Goodrich opened a seafood market and restaurant where freshly dug oysters and fish caught the night before were served to guests.

The current restaurant building was constructed using three block homes that were acquired by NASA during the 1950s. Goodrich, a sixth generation Oak Hill resident, used the materials from the houses, which included the home of the first NASA director of Kennedy Space Center.

By 1983, Goodrich sold it to Cecil and Judy Goodrich. The couple owned it until 2006, when Csonka bought it.

Csonka, who owns a home in Oak Hill, began hunting and fishing in the area in the late 1960s and was there when Goodrich began construction.

“When it came up for sale years ago, I bought it for nostalgia reasons more than anything else,” said Csonka, who paid about $300,000. “It catered to the folks of Oak Hill and I’m hoping to see that again and maybe expand that a little bit through the help of Mr. Cooper.”

Living in Alaska about eight months out of the year, Csonka said he was not interested in running a restaurant, which needs a “tremendous amount of attention.”

“I’ve been looking for someone that wants to recreate the historical significance of the restaurant,” said Csonka, adding that reviving the fish house was not feasible due to the gill net ban.

About six fishing guides will continue to launch from the grounds and Jim Goodrich will remain the caretaker of the restaurant.

Up until the renovation, the establishment was open for breakfast and lunch every day and for fish-fry dinners on Friday nights.

It will now be open every day for all three meals, and while the menu will remain generally the same, there will be healthier dishes to choose from that are baked or broiled.

kelly.cuculiansky@news-jrnl.com

Tags: Mosquito Lagoon seafood icon reopening, Oak Hill seafood icon reopening

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Volunteers are needed to help restore dead oyster reefs for an oyster reef restoration project in the Indian River Lagoon. The goal is to restore oyster reefs in Mosquito Lagoon, volunteers are needed to help make oyster shell mats. Each mat is made up of 36 oyster shells attached vertically with zip ties. The mats are attached to each other forming a large quilt-like structure.

Oyster mat-making opportunities: 
E-mail Michelle Peters-Snyder or call  (321) 543-6127 to RSVP for mat-making events. Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older, accompanied by an adult, able to follow instructions and work with their hands.  

• June 23, 10 a.m. – noon, Castaway Point Park, Palm Bay
• June 25, 10 a.m. – noon, Howard Futch Park at Paradise Beach, Indialantic
• June 29, 10 a.m. – noon, Howard Futch Park at Paradise Beach, Indialantic
• July 10, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville
• July 31, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville
• August 21, noon – 2 p.m., Enchanted Forest, Titusville

Schedule a Mat-making Session: Civic groups, schools, clubs, boating groups, recreational clubs, church groups — any group looking for an easy and fun way to help the lagoon.

A Nature Conservancy representative will bring all materials and give a presentation to your group about oyster reefs, the lagoon environment and instructions on how to create the oyster mats. Conservancy staff will then collect the completed mats to be “planted” in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Contact Michelle Peters-Snyder at (321) 543-6127 to schedule a mat-making event. Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older, accompanied by an adult, able to follow instructions carefully and work with their hands.

Partnership Information:
The oyster reef restoration project is coordinated by The Nature Conservancy, University of Central Florida and NOAA, and is funded by a grant from the National Partnership between the NOAA Community Based Restoration Program and The Nature Conservancy and partners throughout the Indian River Lagoon.

Tags: Mosquito Lagoon Volunteers Needed

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