Over the past few weeks, all eyes have been focused on the cold temperatures which have affected nearly every state.  National attention was turned to Florida's agricultural industry as it struggled to combat freezing temperatures, hoping to prevent a catastrophic crop failure.

Unfortunately, little attention was paid to the affect the cold weather would have on one of our nation's most valuable natural resources, the Indian River Lagoon.  The Indian River Lagoon covers 156 miles of Florida’s east coast, running from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County south to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County. It is the most biologically diverse estuary in North America, home to 4,000 plant and animal species, 50 of  which are threatened or endangered. The balance of this marine ecosystem is understandably delicate.

In addition to its role as an environmental cornerstone, the Lagoon plays a significant role in the saltwater fishing industry of Florida, which employes over 100,000 individuals and generates $16 billion in revenue.

With cold weather gripping the region for the last nine days, many denizens of the lagoon took their cue from the residents of South Florida, with the feathered population seeking warmer locations and hiding on the leeward side of the lagoon's many mangrove islands.  Sadly, the fish are unable to take similar precautions.

According to Rick Roberts, executive director of the Snook Foundation (http://snookfoundation.org/), the situation is much worse than anyone was prepared for. In response to a recent fish kill report, Mr. Roberts explained that the freeze of Jan 2010 is going to go down in history. According to Mr. Roberts, no event like this has transpired in the memory of the oldest of old timers; reports are coming in from all areas of the state of thousands of fish of all varieties dead or dying.

At Village Marina in Fort Pierce, curious onlookers walked the boardwalk, their eyes drawn to the sight of dead fish littering the bottom.

As the temperature in the Lagoon dropped below 64 degrees, one of the premiere game fish found in the state, snook, became disoriented and began to lose equilibrium.  Sadly, this led to the demise of thousands of these fish as water temperatures plummeted below 54 degrees.  One angler reported that at a marina in Vero Beach, hundreds of snook were already dead, with many others disoriented and in danger.

In addition to the loss of snook, the residents along the estuary were shocked to see severe losses of redfish, grouper, snapper, spotted sea trout, tarpon, and multiple species of bait fish.

Temperatures are forecasted to remain well below average for the next several days.  With the water temperature still dangerously low, the fish that have survived thus far continue to face the possibility of death.