Banana River Facts

Banana River Lagoon Facts and Statistics

• Banana River lagoon is recognized as an "Outstanding Florida Water" by the Florida Legislature under FL Rule 62-302.700(9).

• Banana River was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as an "Estuary of National Significance" and placed in the National Estuary Program in 1990. The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program is managed by Indian River Lagoon Council, a special district of the State of Florida.

• Banana River lagoon spans 31 miles from Banana Creek in Titusville, Florida to Dragon's Point in Indian Harbour Beach. Merritt Island is on the west shore and Brevard County's beach barrier island is on the east.

• 30,000 acre Banana River is the smallest of three brackish water lagoons in the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary.

• Northern Banana River Lagoon lies within NASA's Kennedy Space Center and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a 10,600-acre No-Motor Zone in the Banana River between Kennedy Space Center property and the Beachline Expressway (SR528) for protection of the West Indian Manatee.

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection maintains the Banana River Aquatic Preserve from the Beachline (SR528) southward to the tip of Merritt Island.

• Brevard County's Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program preserves 600-acre Ulumay Sanctuary in Merritt island's Sykes Creek and the 300-acre Thousand Islands Conservation Area in Cocoa Beach.

• In spite of its name, the Banana River is not actually a river with a directional current, but a still lagoon where the water's movement is provided by wind.

• Banana River has many resident West Indian manatees living in the lagoon year-round. During spring their survey count may reach 300-500 per day.

• Banana River lagoon supports the largest pelican rookery on the Atlantic Coast.

• The southern tip of Merritt Island in the Banana River is locally known as "Dragon's Point" because a concrete sculpture named "Annie the Dragon" was located there until it crumbled into the lagoon during a storm in 2002.

See Also

Banana River

Web Links

• FWS - Merritt Island Refuge Fishing
• FDEP - Banana River Aquatic Preserve
• Brevard EEL - Ulumay Sanctuary

Documents

• FDEP - Banana River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan 2013 (PDF 90pp 1.5MB)
• FDEP - Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve Management Plan 2016 (PDF 262pp 25MB)

References