Stop Beach Re-nourishment In Jacksonville For Good

To whom it may concern, the purpose of this message is to display the concern, by a large group of fisherman, beach-goers, and surfers, on the issue of the beach re-nourishment project that is set to begin in early July of 2016. Many of the current residents in and around the beach area are concerned with the numerous negative impacts that come with the dumping of "new" sand on the beaches. First, it is known that the unnatural deposition of sediment on the beaches will cause red tides. These red tides occur when the there is a spark in the dinoflagellate population. Dinoflagellate populations exponentially increase when they have a large amount of sediment that is suspended in the water column for an extended period of time. This creates a perfect environment for the micro plankton to grow out of control almost as if it were HeLa cells in a cell culture. There is more than enough proof that red tides occur due to re-nourishment projects. Countless people throughout the state experience the effects of the beach re-nourishment projects annually. Not only do the greed driven projects cause red tides, but they also devastate the fishing in the specific area for many years to follow. In 2009 and 2010, when the last re-nourishment protect was completed here in Jacksonville, there was a red tide which caused the fishing to take a dive off of the deep end. This is coming from my own experience of fishing off of the Jacksonville beach pier. Before this red tide, countless king mackerel, cobia, triple tail, and other fish were caught off the pier every year. There were so many caught that there were no records kept. Now, for the last 4 years, the pier has averaged 45 mackerel a year which is extremely different compared to the hundreds caught in the past years. Also, the cobia and triple tail fishing is practically non-existent. Other than killing thousands of fish, the high level of sediment in the water begins to settle over much of the bottom life which kills it. It dies because the sediment covers it and keeps it from getting sunlight and filling it's niche in the surrounding ecosystem. It's is known that coral and bottom dwelling creatures (specifically crustaceans and mollusks) die due to excess levels of sediment such as the that from the project settling on top of them due to the aforementioned reasons. When the coral becomes covered, the first stage of the ecosystem is destroyed in the area. The second issue is that the dumping of sand causes the water levels to drop in the surrounding area. This causes the breaks in the waves to be much smaller which will begin to push away surfers and paddle boarders. The same can be said for the pier; once the water levels drop, less fish bite because they travel to deeper, more preferable depths. Therefore, people will begin to fish elsewhere. Third, the middle school topic of erosion and deposition is very relevant. No matter how much sand is placed on the beaches, it will eventually be eroded away and deposited elsewhere. I'm very well aware that this costs the city millions of dollars to do. I fear that this project will be the final straw for many surfers and fisherman who generate the majority of commerce and revenue here on the beachfront. Without their presence, the beach will lose most of the "crowd" and the majority of the income. In my opinion, as well as thousands of others in the area, this project is dangerous for the environment, the income of the beaches, and over all a waste of time and money. There are many other beaches that have experienced the negative effects of re-nourishment projects like this one. Go no further than a simple google search of the effects and you will see what we are attempting to display. It is painfully apparent that the mayors and city council members here in Florida are too timid to do anything about these types of issues. As of today, March 26th, there has been little to nothing done about the Lake Okeechobee disaster and the Indian River Lagoon fish kill. These two events alone are enough to devastate the fishing in some of the most popular fishing and vacation spots in Florida. I fear that these two events, along with the re-nourishment projects occurring around Florida this summer, will have the largest negative impact on the ecosystem and tourism that Florida had ever seen. We, the people of Jacksonville, dislike and distrust the efforts by the city council to "re-nourish" the beaches and we demand that the plans for re-nourishing the beaches be terminated immediately. Also, we demand that there shall be no further plans to deposit sand on and re-nourish the beaches here in Jacksonville because we feel there is an immediate danger to the welfare of the ecosystem and the lives of thousands who attend the beach frequently.
Thank you,
The people of Jacksonville
Jacob Adkins