In 1989, elevated levels of mercury were discovered in Florida freshwater fish,
resulting in an unprecidented issuance of health advisories to Florida
Fisherman. After extensive monitoring, approximately two million acres of Florida
surface waters - over half of the freshwaters of the state - are now subject to bans
or restrictions on consumption of several species of fish.
The most severe problem is located in south Florida, where the entirety of the Florida Everglades is convered by consumption bans. The fishing advisories have had a substantial impact on sport and subsistence angling populations in south Florida and on the economy fo the state through the loss of recreation and liscense fees. In addition, the mercury problem places at risk a variety of wildlife within the Everglades (see map below). Most notably, the effects of elevated mercury has been implicated in the mortality and loss of fecundity in the endangered Florida Panther.
A variety of explanations have been proposed to account for the unusual severity of the mercury problem in south Florida. Three potential sources or causitive factors are: (1) hydrological changes resulting from the Central and South Florida Flood Control Project, (2) agricultural practices in the Everglades Agricultural Area, or (3) contamination of the Everglades ecosystem via atmospheric deposition (wet and dry) of mercury. The latter explanation has proved to be the most likely.
The 1995 South Florida Atmospheric Mercury Monitoring Study (SoFAMMS) was carried out to investigate the potential influence of local mercury sources in the developed Southeast Florida Coast, on the atmospheric deposition of mercury to the Everglades, a regional ecosystem which is an International Biosphere Reserve, a United Nations' World Heritage site and home to a major National Park and Wildlife Refuge. This work is was carried out through a cooperative effort between the U.S. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA Region IV, the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the University of Michigan, Florida State University, the University of Miami (FL) and the Electric Power Research Institute.
