But Pate and others are worried that it may not stay that way. The bay is world-renowned for its fishing. Highly prized species found here include tarpon, snook, and bonefish. The gin-clear, shallow waters make it possible to “sight fish,” or seek out a fish by spying it under water and casting a lure in its path.
Those who have stalked, hooked, played, and released bonefish or tarpon find them to be two of fishing’s supreme challenges. If you’re fortunate enough to spot a bonefish and get it on the end of a hook, you’ve completed only half the job—bonefish are capable of breaking away at speeds of 22 mph. Tarpon can grow more than five feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds; nicknamed the “silver king,” it’s also a species that’s easily spooked. Even when it’s taken the bait, the fight is far from over—it can take most of a day to reel in these strong, wild, acrobatic fish.
But to get to that point, you’ve got to find the fish, and just getting to these fishing flats—extremely shallow areas covered with seagrass—takes skill and hard work. Oftentimes, boats must be pushed by pole into some of the more hidden backcountry areas. Unfortunately, some boaters are either unaware of that fact or unwilling to exercise the patience it requires, so they’ll often motor in, tearing up the seabed in the process.
The waters average only about three feet deep, and the silty bottom supports a lush growth of underwater seagrass, says Dave King, district ranger for the park: “The seagrass is important as habitat and for protection from predators for countless species including dozens of species of fish, tulip snails, hermit crabs, stone crabs, mollusks, scallops, and lobsters.” Seagrass forms the base of a marine food chain that extends from the smallest marine life to game fish and marine mammals. In short, it’s a baby nursery for an entire ecosystem of marine life.
Not surprisingly, this fertile habitat is fragile and vulnerable to disturbance. When boaters operate their motors in shallow areas, their propellers act just like rototillers, chopping up the seagrass and digging up the sea bottom, leaving behind a plume of sediment and a long narrow scar in the seabed. From a low-flying plane, one can see that areas along the Bay’s floor are crisscrossed with deep scars. Because seagrass beds take years to become established, any damage to the existing beds can be devastating.
Of course, most visitors don’t intentionally cause harm, but accidental damage is no less consequential. King recently watched a small boat approach an island to get a closer look at some nesting birds. The nature lovers left a sediment plume of sand and chopped up seagrass in their wake. King caught up with them but only after they had spooked the birds and damaged the Bay floor. “They were out-of-town visitors and had absolutely no clue they were digging up seagrass; they didn’t look behind them,” he says with a shrug. “I estimate the propeller scar was about a quarter of a mile long.”
Even experienced boaters equipped with nautical charts have been known to run aground in this shallow bay. The area is much more challenging for inexperienced boaters, who can find themselves in an obstacle course of mud flats, narrow channels, shallow banks, and low islands. Some channels have been known to be only 1418 inches deep when water levels drop in the winter.
Pate says that in the past, he and his fellow anglers honored certain unwritten rules with respect to other fishermen and the fish themselves, but many of these newcomers are violating these rules, whether they know it or not. So Pate and others asked for help. It wasn’t so much that park rules needed to be changed, they told Munson, but that existing rules needed to be better enforced, and users of the park needed to know how to navigate its tricky waters.
And that brings us back to Roland and Jake, who are heading to North Nest Key—a popular anchoring point northwest of Key Largo—courtesy of NPCA Outreach Coordinator Kristina Trotta and park ranger David Szymanski. Other volunteers will be stationed at “The Boggies,” a channel through which most of the westbound boat traffic passes.
Once there, they’ll hang a banner advertising “Park Information,” inviting passing boats to stop and learn about the area. Wearing uniforms donated by the park, the Bay Buddies hand out maps and information, direct visitors, and answer questions, according to Trotta. She compares the program to the “campground host” volunteer role at national park campgrounds. Bay Buddies work closely with the park staff. The rangers can’t be everywhere, so the volunteers’ mission is to educate park users, and they hope to contact as many visitors as possible.
NPCA’s Munson says her group is thrilled to have a chance to help out. In addition to sponsoring the Bay Buddies program, NPCA has donated funds to the South Florida National Parks Trust to help the park purchase new patrol boats, hire rangers, place navigational markers on the Bay, and conduct studies of the Bay. NPCA is even hiring off-duty Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers to go undercover and observe where violations are occurring, so volunteers will be able to focus all their efforts in the right place at the right time.
Brian Lavendel is a freelance writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. He last wrote for National Parks about creating a soundscape at Biscayne National Park.
