Matecu noe 
Long Key 
Islamorada 
80° 40' W 
Barnes 
Sound 
Key largi 
Tavernier 
East Cape 
25° O' N 
Florida Bay 
Shown in detail in Figure 2 
Figure 1. Florida Bay. 
legislation affecting environmental regulations nationwide and in the Bay area; and 
environmental programs and studies performed currently and in the past by Federal, state, 
municipal, academic and civic organizations. 
2. DESCRIPTION OF FLORIDA BAY ECOSYSTEM 
Florida Bay is a coastal lagoon, on average less than 3 m deep, approximately 1,000 square 
miles in area, located between the South Florida mainland and the Florida Keys (Figure 1). 
Approximately 80% of the Bay is protected as part of the Everglades National Park (ENP), and 
the rest is under the protection of the National Oceanic and Atmopsheric Administration (NOAA) 
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Whitewater Bay, located between the Everglades 
mainland and Cape Sable, is connected to Florida Bay by the Buttonwood Canal. The Bay is open 
to the Gulf of Mexico in the southwest. During most years, Florida Bay is a negative estuary 
where evaporation exceeds freshwater input resulting in a hypersaline (>35°/oo) environment. 
Such conditions were observed for 12 of the 17 yrs of recorded data since 1956 examined by 
Robblee et al. (1989). Salinities greater than 50 °/oo have been routinely measured, and 
maximum levels of approximately 70 %o have been observed. Highest salinities occur in the 
central basins, usually during late spring, and lowest salinity conditions occur in the northeast 
2 
