Table 20. 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 
1965-1974 
1966 
1967 
1967 or 1968 
1968 or 1970 
1969-1970 
1970s 
1 970s-1980s 
1971 
1972 
1972 or 1973 
1973 
1973- 1975 
1974- 1979 
1975 
Approximately 27 shrimp boats are working out of Marathon, over 300 shrimp 
boats are working out of Key West. 
Alligator Alley is completed. The Miami Canal is deepened. 
Hurricane Inez. 
C-111 Canal is constructed. 
Algae bloom associated with the Gulf Loop current and water coming from the 
north observed off Everglades City. 
Bad lobster catch year. 
In the winter, cold water from Florida Bay kills many of the corals at Hens and 
Chickens Reef, an inshore patch reef. 
Miami's sewage outfall extends out to deeper water. 
Early crawfish are so thick in Biscayne Bay that men use a light at night to gig 
them from a skiff. 
You can go up Taylor River (slough) in a boat. 
The water at Mallory docks and in Key West Harbor is clear. 
Mid 1970s, powerheads become popular in the Keys. 
In the late 1970s, water clarity starts going bad, coral reefs start to decline 
throughout the middle and lower Keys. 
Short-lived green algae blooms observed in the water column at Marquesas. 
Begins to be an increase in the rolling moss brown algae in western Florida Bay. 
Tourism and land development are at a fevered pitch. Steady increase in the 
population in the Keys and steady increase in water/boat use. 
Steady population growth in the Keys causes steady growth in water usage 
rate. 
Population of diadema starts to decline. 
A daily bag limit of ten queen conch is established. 
Mid 1970s, lobster traps at Red Bay Bank covered with green slimy algae and 
filled with "rolling moss’ brown algae. 
Late, "watched as areas of traditionally pristine water develop a green tinge" 
in the west Florida Bay area. 
Mid to late, increase in live aboard Cuban sponge boat population. 
Green filamentous algae bloom observed north of Big Pine Key at the rockpile. 
Re-occurs every summer afterward for short periods of time. 
Late, areas of traditionally pristine water develop a green tinge in the west 
Florida Bay area. 
Can clearly see a lobster trap in 30-40 feet of water in Hawk's channel. 
Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary is established. 
Indian Key bought by the State of Florida. 
Notice an algae bloom ten miles west of Sandy Key. 
Begin seeing a gradual change in the water clarity near Sandy Key and East 
Cape. 
Increase in the catfish catch in western Florida Bay. 
More water is moved into the Miami/South Dade area for flood control. 
Winter, water clarity on the reef in the lower Keys averages one hundred feet. 
Keys are designated an "Area of Critical Concern" by the Governor due to 
rampant development. 
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