Indian River Lagoon

A federal judge ordered a series of steps aimed at protecting manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon, including temporarily preventing new septic tanks in the area.

A U.S. district judge last month ruled that the state has violated the Endangered Species Act as manatees face threats in the Indian River Lagoon

Nearly 2,000 manatees died in the state in 2021 and 2022, a two-year record. Widespread water quality problems and seagrass losses left the sea cows starving.

The judge said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection needs to seek what is known as an “incidental take permit” from federal wildlife officials to help minimize the effects of discharges on manatees.

Rampant pollution caused manatees to starve. Florida waters are getting worse.

Hanisak, director of education and the marine ecosystems health program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, died May 7.

This year’s fish kills were linked to the lagoon’s low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a budget that, among other things, calls for a variety of tax cuts and an increase in teacher pay.

The legislature would need to approve DeSantis' $3.5 billion proposal, which would be spread over four years.

The study from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute shows the greatest concentration of toxins were in the sharks’ stomachs.

Florida’s estuaries once teemed with clams, oysters and other bivalves that helped keep waters clean and seagrasses healthy. By the mid-20th century, only a fraction of the state’s vast shellfish beds and reefs remained. Can a small clam make a big difference in serious water pollution hotspots like the Indian River Lagoon?