"Imagine Florida without its tourism-driven economy: without fishing, boating, wading and beachcombing. Thankfully, you won't have to because the state's 41 aquatic preserves (AP), including Lemon Bay AP, will help safeguard Florida's environment and quality of life for generations to come." - U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
"Cape Haze is a Florida place where the sense of wilderness and encounters with the genuinely wild persist-- where there remains the chance to experience our state's original bounty and heritage of nature. That's what aquatic preserves are all about."
- Ernest D. Estevez, Ph.D., Director at the Center for Coastal Ecology, Mote Marine Laboratory
For copies of any of these publications, please email Veronica Lopez at Veronica.Lopez@FloridaDEP.gov.
Management Plan
Maps
The Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve is located
Water quality monitoring has become an important part of the aquatic preserve's role in understanding the bay's natural processes. Monitoring water quality allows researchers to document short-term variability and long-term changes in the status of the bay's health, and facilitates in implementing appropriate protection for waterways. The collected data can be used to gain a better understanding of how water quality is impacted and will help us understand the important role we play in water conservation.
Seagrass communities are an integral part of St. Joseph Bay and an important natural resource. They provide nurseries, nutrition and shelter for a wide variety of commercial and recreational fish and invertebrate species, and their extensive root systems stabilize sediments on the bay bottom, helping to improve water quality and clarity, which helps keep the bay healthy. The health and status of many commercially and recreationally important seafood species such as shrimp, crabs, scallops, redfish, trout and mullet are directly proportional to the health and acreage of seagrass habitat.
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