So this clearly demonstrates some benefits to the surrounding fisheries. And this clearly shows they can get benefits from that. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. For security reasons, the waters around Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center have been closed to fishermen for years, creating a 15 square mile fisheries preserve.
Scientists say the waters hold more than double the number of fish found in comparable areas.
It was just teeming with fish. And it was teeming with gators that fed on the fish. The birds at Merritt Island are just totally incredible. It's a wonderful bird sanctuary as well. We had a lot of Manatees in those areas.