COASTAL RESOURCES 



Four large estuaries dominate Northwest Florida. The first is Pensacola 

 Bay (consisting of Escambia and East Bay and Santa Rosa Sound), formed by the 

 confluence of the White River, Blackwater Bay, and Yellow River. Of the estu- 

 aries in Northwest Florida, the Pensacola estuary is most severely polluted, 

 especially by industrial wastes. Heavy fish kills once were relatively common 

 but pollution control requirements and public protests have brought about some 

 improvement in pollution control in recent years, but fish kills have not yet 

 been completely eliminated. 



The second is Choctawhatchee Bay, one of the largest single bay estuaries 

 in Florida. Numerous small creeks and rivers, such as Black Creek and Chocta- 

 whatchee River, contribute to it. 



The third is St. Andrews Bay at Panama City consisting of West Bay, North 

 Bay, and East Bay; the fourth is Apalachicola Bay by far the largest and 

 most productive estuary. The bay is fed primarily by the Apalachicola River, 

 and is made up of Indian Lagoon, St. Vincent Sound, Apalachicola Bay proper. 

 East Bay, and St. George Sound. Further information on the characteristics of 

 the Bay and Apalachicola River are reported by Livingston (1975) and Living- 

 ston and Joyce (1977). 



The offshore waters of these large estuarine nursery areas support exten- 

 sive sport and commercial fisheries. The locations of about forty sport and 

 commercial fishing concentrations have been identified by Moe (1963). He di- 

 vided Northwest Florida into the Upper West Coast (characterized by a gentle 

 gradient of the Continental Shelf within the 50- fathom contour almost 100 

 miles from the coastline) and the Northwest Coast (characterized by DeSota 

 Canyon, a deep basin of sea water close to shore). In both areas, sport and 

 commercial fishing is good near rock outcroppings, ledges, cliffs, gullies, 

 and other topographic features of the bottom that are good fish habitat. 



COASTAL CURRENTS 



Prevailing ocean currents of the Gulf of Mexico are complex and contrib- 

 ute to the characteristics of the biology of the Florida gulf coast. Drift 

 bottle data and current monitoring via satellite imagery are contributing to a 

 better understanding of the diverse factors that influence mass water trans- 

 port. A 28-month study by the Florida Department of Natural Resources on the 

 West Florida Shelf revealed that bottles released in the winter tended to 

 drift to the eastern Florida coast and Keys, and those released in spring and 

 summer tended to drift to the lower west coast (Tampa to Fort Myers) and to 

 the western Gulf of Mexico. Recent data from satellite imagery has confirmed 

 that these tendencies are extremely variable and depend strongly on the Loop 

 Current development (intrusion, spreading, eddy formation, and drift), which 

 itself is unpredictable and significantly affected by short term variation and 

 the influence of prevailing local winds (Williams et al . 1977). Although un- 

 predictable, the Loop Current, its eddies, wind effects, and other variables 

 closely link Florida's Western Shelf with other coastal waters of the State. 

 Transport of red tide by these currents also has been documented (Steidinger 

 1981). Such currents could also transport hazardous substances, such as oil 

 spills from the lower west Florida coast to the northwest or east coast if 

 conditions were suitable. 



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