The other side of the story. Right about here used to be 20' depth of water before our jetty's in New Smyrna Bch. was built in 1967. Back then (prior to construction)the inlet was close to a mile wide, with a huge flow of waterflushing, an essential element towards maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem.The jetties made the inlet safer for navigation and of course a unique surf spot and a great place to take this walk in the photo. But it cut the flush and flow into n out of our river system by about 90 % daily. Our entire river has back filled at about the same rate as this pile of sand you see here. Places you once could navigate a 75' boat drawing 9' of water at low tide one can barely pass a canoe through currently. The Jetty's also severely alters the northerly /southerly currents and disrupts that natural flow, altering beachside slues. Pre Jetty I remember slues nearby the inlet at low tide you could drive a semi truck around never wetting the tires which were up to 8' deep, loaded with crabs, skates,big green hairyback sandollers plus many other fishes, trapped momentarily by the tide.This is just ONE, of hundreds of harmful dominoes MAN, (not C. Fishermen)has/have inflicted on the environment. The average person looks upon on our waters and has no idea how near we are to a total collapse in our ecosystem. The only saving grace is our mosquito lagoon, (canaveral seashore park) which is so large of a non-developed area holding back the hand of man it still continues to have a live productive ecosystem but it too is slipping. Everything outside this zone is severely polluted rotten bottom. If you don't believe me, next time your out in the river dig up some mud and smell it.I don't want people to think I'm negative and see the glass half empty, or I don't wake up happy or thankful,cause I do. I look at what is "IN" the glass. It was my job as a commercial fishermen to study the what's and whys of our ecosystem, trust me I've been watching closely, daily, since I began fishing for a living at twelve years old. We almost never say "NO" to new development here, the southeast, or even around the world. It saddens me the course we are on and what the next 50 years might bring when were packed in like sardines in a can. I'm tired of commercial fisherman taking the blame, it's called MAN. When you kill off 90% of the habitat, (inshore waters, offshore is doing better outside the pollution zone and we have increased that habitat, i.e. Shipwrecks/man made reefs etc.)it's easy to overfish, overfishing, overfishing, overfishing, while the real enemy continues on unabated, (MAN).I can relate and know just how the native Americans must have felt, and I worry for our children's children and what they stand to inherit because of our inability to say "NO" Just sayin' like it or not.....
https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...c8&oe=576BEE2A
Posted on FB by a local here who I went to high school with.....telling it like it is.... |
