Fifty years later, Biscayne Bay still needs protection | Opinion

Half a century ago, we celebrated as local news media spread the word about the Florida Legislature’s official creation of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves Act to clean up and protect our hometown bay from degradation.

It has been enriching for us, two of the few remaining individuals directly involved in this issue in 1974-75, to take a 50-year look back to when several of our local bipartisan Florida legislators, Republican John Cyril Malloy and Democrats Alan Becker and I, Robert W. McKnight, led the ongoing effort to create the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve Acts.

In the 1970s, Dade County had long been overlooked by the state for our fair share of support and funding for natural resources.

Our Dade Legislative Delegation closed ranks and insisted on the designation of Biscayne Bay as a Florida Aquatic Preserve.

The establishing act, preserving Dumfoundling Bay in North Dade, was passed in 1974. Legislation adding bay waters down to Card Sound was passed in 1975, supporting the preservation of all Biscayne Bay in a natural condition.

The Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves now includes 68,770 submerged acres, alongside Biscayne National Park and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, which is championed by former state Sen. Paul Steinberg, a Democrat. Many local environmental groups still work in full force, advocating for the bay and hosting frequent events, including the 2025 Coastal Cleanup this Saturday, Sept. 20.

When the Dade County legislative delegation convinced the Florida Legislature to support the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves in the 1970s, it was a time for support and celebration. Today, as state officials, local environmentalists and professionals meet to prepare the required 10-year report on the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves, controversy prevails as some charge that the discussion focuses on “education and outreach over enforcement.”

Meetings continue and community input is welcome.

We suggest that the Miami-Dade and Monroe county commissions provide prior approval on the adoption of any new regulations and that prior notice of any changes be given to all members of both counties’ legislative delegations. Early in 1975, a phone call from an agitated Miami Beach fisherman, Walter Kandrashoff, raised an alarm about the condition of Biscayne Bay. He called the Coral Gables Times/Guide, owned by the Miami Herald (now Neighbors). I, Connie Crowther, a reporter, took the fisherman’s call.

He claimed that he was catching damaged, malformed fish in Biscayne Bay. I did some research, then consulted my editors, who agreed that I should go fishing in a little johnboat with Kandrashoff, joined by two University of Miami researchers.

The fisherman wasn’t exaggerating. The fish had uneven or absent fins, strange irregular scale markings, eye lesions and large tumors. I wrote a four-part, front-page series and a first-person column. Residents and legislative leaders responded quickly to this alarming news.

A few weeks later, on Aug. 6, 1975, the lead story in the newspaper was “Save bay is goal of group,” announcing the creation of Save Biscayne Bay, Inc., a nonprofit alliance of environmental and civic groups. Over the years, that group has evolved into Friends of Biscayne Bay, still a leader in keeping our bay clean.

The original 1974 act did not include extended funding, so McKnight, as a member of the Florida House and later the Senate Natural Resources committees, led the effort to expand and fund the entire preserve.

Now, to continue this focus on a healthy bay, we and future generations must remain diligent and informed, join a group, speak up and work together to keep our bay healthy. Provide your input on the 10-year report of the preserves.

We have seen what an ignored bay can be, so we must be ever vigilant to continue our laser focus on preserving Biscayne Bay.

Robert W. McKnight, now a Tallahassee resident and an author, served in the Florida House of Representatives then the Florida Senate from South Dade and the Keys from 1974 to 1982.

Connie Crowther, board member of Friends of Biscayne Bay, was a journalist for two decades then director of information services/news bureau at FIU for 16 years.