Lagoon anglers can have their input heard at an early June meeting with managers to discuss the latest Mosquito Lagoon management plan. It’s a chance for fishermen to describe what they see happening on the water.

“What we really want from this meeting is to get an understanding of the public perception of the area,” said Sharon Tyson, manager of the East Coast Florida Aquatic Preserves. “There are no plans to change anything at this point.”

The meeting between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Area (CAMA) and the public will take place at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library June 4 at 6:30 p.m. The office of CAMA is responsible for the management of Florida’s 41 aquatic preserves, including sections of Mosquito Lagoon.

The area to be discussed is not the hard-fished section of the Lagoon that makes up the Canaveral National Seashore (that’s federally regulated), but a three-mile stretch near Edgewater that mostly consists of tidal creeks and a well-known section for jet-skiing.

Some objectives to be discussed at the meeting include restoring natural habitat to wetlands and mollusk reefs, preventing pollution inundation from septic tanks, addressing nutrient discharge via stormwater and runoff, and possibly implementing policy to reduce impacts from coastal development. Read through all the objectives HERE.

Tyson also says she is looking for public members to fill a subcommittee that can inform her office of what they’re seeing on the water. Members could range from commercial crabbers to fishermen to law enforcement.

Other objectives to continue sustainability in the area include installing etiquette signage at boat ramps and implementing “traffic calming techniques.”

Find out more information by reading the newest, complete 222-page draft plan. Public Comments can be submitted until June 11th, 2008 at Mosquito.Lagoon@dep.state.fl.us.