Seven Islands should not be developed
To the editor:
As thankfully pointed out in last week’s Breeze fishing column, Matlacha, Pine Island Sound, and much of the surrounding area truly is losing an environmental battle caused by poor water quality. I also have to agree that the valuable sea grass beds that support local marine life are dying off at a rapid rate especially in the Pass and definitely caused by water pollution. I’m also a long-time local angler and constantly see the ongoing destruction taking place.
If all water pollution was magically stopped tomorrow, it would still take many years for our local sea grass beds to reestablish themselves. Without a healthy sea grass environment fishing will continue to decline till the area eventually becomes a dead zone. North Florida’s world-famous Indian River Mosquito Lagoon area is an example. The once full grass beds are rapidly dying out due to water quality issues along with the once world-class fishing. The fish simply move on, trying to survive, along with the local economy that anglers greatly help support.
Boat engines, like gas car engines, pollute the air and often leak. Marinas can pollute from leaking oil and gas from boats even though marina operators would have you believe it’s non-existent which is, of course, nonsense. Go to the Matlacha boat ramp on a season Saturday and quite often you’ll see the water’s surface around the ramp covered in a thin film of leaked gas and oil which ends up in the pass, the plant life, and the fish, when the tide goes out.
With the fragile underwater environment of Matlacha Pass in big trouble comes news of a marina supporting nearly 300 boats being built on the small Spreader Canal that feeds into Matlacha which is in my opinion, terrible news for local residents, local anglers, future tourists, local boaters, and guides, with the only winners being developers and their city council backers. There’s even a council plan to give the developer millions of our Cape Coral tax dollars to help the project along so developers can make an even bigger boatload of cash? Give me a break!
Anyone concerned about water quality, further environmental damage, and the future of fishing and boating in beautiful Matlacha Pass should make their voices heard to help stop the Seven Islands Project which will greatly add to the pollution problems, access issues, and already overly stressed and overcrowded waters of Matlacha Pass.
Am I against all “development” in Cape Coral? No, but this proposed project is without question, in the worst possible location, and may well be the final straw that breaks Matlacha’s already fragile environmental back, along with the logistical problems presented trying to get in and out all using the small Spreader Canal. If your boat is docked in the northwest Cape, get ready for weekend gridlock on a grand scale.
Will long lines of idling boats match the parade of backed up car traffic trying to get into Matlacha that keeps growing longer each year? Looks like a safe bet.
Say a big NO WAY to the Seven Islands Project and its Cape Coral City Council backers.
Chuck R. Colczun
Long-time Matlacha angler