"Biscayne Bay is one of Miami's most underrated assets." That's what we boldly proclaimed during our recent story about exploring Miami's top snorkeling spots, and we're sticking to it. In fact, we're of the opinion that we don't just under appreciate Biscayne Bay, but that we also know very little about its fascinating history. It took a California-based fish taco chain, Rubio's Coastal Grill, to make us realize we don't know what we don't know about the beautiful marine asset in our backyard.
In February, Rubio's celebrated the opening of their second Miami location in Midtown by putting their money where their mouth is. The company, which is committed to sustainable seafood and protecting the environment, gave a generous donation to our very own Miami Waterkeeper. The donation will support the Miami Waterkeeper's critical work protecting our local water quality and the marine habitats in Biscayne Bay.
We joined Rubio's at Pelican Harbour Marina for the announcement as their very own Instagram correspondent. If you follow us on Instagram, thank you for joining the live stream! We enjoyed learning about Biscayne Bay from Executive Director and Waterkeeper, Rachel Silverstein, and giving you the opportunity to learn from her and ask her questions as well. In her presentation, she shared several surprising facts about Biscayne Bay that amazed us.
We share our favorite facts about Biscayne Bay below for those of you that missed it. Which one did you find most surprising? Are there any little known facts about Biscayne Bay you know? Share them in the comments or send us a tweet @ThankYouMiami!
- Biscayne Bay depends on and is influenced by flows from the Everglades. Changing the natural water flow of the Everglades—like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did in the 1930s to reduce floods, accommodate farming, and allow us to live in South Florida—has consequences not only in the Everglades, but also in Biscayne Bay.
- Biscayne Bay used to have freshwater springs from which you could drink water (and passing ships often stopped by to do so!).
- Biscayne Bay is an aquatic preserve and is also designated an Outstanding Florida Water, which means there are strict regulations that dictate what can/cannot go into the bay and what can/cannot be done in the bay.
- Biscayne Bay is home to Biscayne National Park, the largest marine park in the U.S. National Park system.
- Biscayne Bay provides 428 square miles of marine ecosystem and is habitat to threatened and dangers species like the Florida manatee, the American crocodile, staghorn and elkhorn coral, and sea turtles.
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