Mosquito Lagoon Water Body

Indian River Lagoon Encyclopedia - Water Body

Ponce Inlet Light House

Mosquito Lagoon is bounded on the north by Volusia County's Ponce de Leon Inlet, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to the west, Canaveral National Seashore on the east, and Kennedy Space Center to the south.

The lagoon is the least developed area remaining on Central Florida's East Coast. Two thirds of Mosquito Lagoon is protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWC) and NASA. The northern end of Mosquito Lagoon is protected under Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Aquatic Preserve program.^[1]

Salinity levels in the Mosquito Lagoon are comparable to ocean levels (32-34 ppt) allowing several fish species to spawn in the brackish water that would normally only spawn in the ocean. Mosquito Lagoon has a resident population of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, manatees and alligators. Mosquito Lagoon supports the northernmost extent of the red and black mangrove habitat.^[1]

Canaveral National Seashore

Haulover Canal

The Canaveral National Seashore is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 310 bird species. CANA occupies 57,662 acres (including Mosquito Lagoon). The park's 24-mile-long beach is the longest undeveloped beach on the east coast of the state.

The southern part is known as Playalinda Beach, the middle section as Klondike Beach, and the northern section as Apollo Beach.^[2]

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge traces its beginnings to the development of the nation’s Space Program. In 1962, NASA acquired 140,000 acres of land, water, and marshes adjacent to Cape Canaveral to establish the John F. Kennedy Space Center. NASA built a launch complex and other space-related facilities, but development of most of the area was not necessary.

In 1963 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to establish the refuge and in 1975 a second agreement established Canaveral National Seashore. Today, the Department of Interior manages most of the unused portions of the Kennedy Space Center as a National Wildlife Refuge and National Seashore.^[3]

Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve

Manatees in Mosquito Lagoon

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve (MLAP) includes 4,740 acres in the northern end of the lagoon.

The MLAP originally extended to the southern end of the lagoon, but close to two-thirds of the central and southern lagoon were transferred to the Federal government and are now part of the Canaveral National Seashore.

MLAP is unique among the inland waters of the Atlantic Coast of Florida and a feeling of relative isolation is attainable just a short distance from nearby boat ramps. Once outside the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, local knowledge of water depths and channels of the Lagoon system is essential. Elevated landmarks are difficult to see at times, and it is easy to become disorientated among the winding turns and dead end waterways.^[1]