Table 21. Excerpts of the anecdotal and historical chronology of events that affected the marine 
environment of the Florida Keys from 1714 to the present prepared by The Nature Conservancy 
(text as found in draft document except for minor editing) [DeMaria (in press)] (cont.). 
Year(s) 
Event 
1 950s-1960s 
Key West ocean outfall sewage pipe is built. Located approximately one quarter 
mile offshore, east of the shipping channel in 20 ft of water, this pipe pumps 
raw sewage from the city of Key West into the ocean. 
Massive population of diadema on the banks. 
Fishing guides fished five miles upstream in Taylor River Slough for largemouth 
Bass. 
1959-1961 
1950-1970 
1954-1959 
Cuban exiles move to the Keys. 
Sewage outfall from Miami is placed in the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay. 
Drainage district emphasis is on forming the northern boundary of the 
Everglades Agricultural Area. 
1955-1976 
1956, 1957 
1 957 
1960 
Can see the bottom of Florida Bay. 
"Being on Hawk's Channel on a boat is like being on air can see the bottom." 
An especially cold winter. 
Vaca cut created. 
1960s 
Hurricane Donna wipes out all of the tall mangroves next to Shark River, near 
Flamingo, and the middle Keys. The eye moves over Long Key. 
December, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is dedicated. Regarding 
Pennekamp Park: "no commercial shell, coral, or seaweed hunters would be 
permitted to destroy the natural beauty of the reef. On days when the ocean is 
calm, visitors will be able to look down through up to 60 ft of water, so clear 
that the barracuda, shark and rays swimming beneath them seem 
uncomfortably close". 
Extension of water management canal system into Dade County. 
Height of Army Corps of Engineers construction activity in South Florida. 
Slight decrease in rainfall in the Everglades area, increased water flow out 
Shark River. 
Anglos and Cubans have separate fishhouses. Increase in the amount of Cuban 
lobstermen in the Keys. Anglos will not buy Cuban crawfish nor sell them traps. 
"Crawfishing is an Anglo trade. Cubans fish for yellowtail, stone crabs, conchs, 
and turtles". 
1 960s-1 970s 
Traveling back and forth between Flamingo and Marathon, Florida Bay water is 
crystal clear all the way. 
Stone crab industry expands and increases 
Muddy sparse Halodule seagrass beds are present in northeast Florida Bay. 
A lot of lobsters are caught in international waters and land in Monroe County. 
Scallop bloom in Florida Bay north of Lower Matecumbe Key in the late 1960s. 
The scallops stay for about two years, then vanish. 
Late, the first lobster traps from the Keys placed in Florida Bay. 
Mid to late 1960s, see a decline in the amount of fish in the upper and middle 
Keys in the nearshore waters, bayside. 
Increase in deer herd in the northwest conservation area 3A, due to decrease in 
water retention. High deer mortality during wet season when standing water is 
everywhere. 
1961 
1963 
1965 
February, Marvin Adams waterway in Key Largo constructed. 
Mosquito Control District buys planes and starts aerial spraying. 
Hurricane Betsy. 
88 
