Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve — Sebastian, Florida

The water directly off the Sebastian riverfront is part of the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve, a body of state-owned submerged land set aside under Florida law. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection describes the preserve as part of the Indian River Lagoon, a long, wide and shallow estuarine lagoon, located in Brevard and Indian River counties. Its name marks its reach, from Malabar in Brevard County south to the northern Vero Beach city limits, so the lagoon off Sebastian, Roseland and Wabasso lies inside it.

An aquatic preserve is a legal status rather than a park. Under section 258.36 of the Florida Statutes, state-owned submerged lands with exceptional biological, aesthetic and scientific value are to be set aside forever as aquatic preserves or sanctuaries for the benefit of future generations. The status governs what the state may permit on the lagoon bottom off Sebastian: docks, dredging, fill and leases. Fishing, boating and paddling continue under the ordinary rules of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and FDEP lists no fees for the preserve.

State sources give two figures. The FDEP aquatic preserve page lists the preserve at 28,000 acres, while the FDEP Coastal Access Guide for Indian River County states that the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve envelops 29,000 acres of the Indian River Lagoon, describing it as a diverse estuary between temperate and subtropical climate zones. The difference is not explained on either page; both describe the same preserve off Sebastian.

The legal boundary is written into statute. Section 258.39(7) of the Florida Statutes describes the preserve as recorded in the Official Records of Brevard County and Indian River County and the sovereignty submerged lands within a surveyed boundary, excluding lands inside the corporate boundary of the City of Vero Beach. The southern line follows the northern Vero Beach city limits, which is why the next preserve to the south carries a separate name, the Indian River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.

The preserve dates from the first wave of Florida aquatic preserves. According to the 1986 state management plan, it was not until October 21, 1969 that the Governor and Cabinet acted on the recommendations of an interagency advisory committee and adopted, by resolution, 18 waterbodies as aquatic preserves; the plan maps for the Malabar to Vero Beach preserve carry that resolution date. FDEP states that the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach, Indian River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce and Banana River preserves were designated by the Board of Trustees in 1970.

Two later actions strengthened the lagoon status off Sebastian. FDEP reports that all four Indian River Lagoon aquatic preserves were included in the Aquatic Preserves Act of 1975 passed by the Florida Legislature, and were designated as Outstanding Florida Waters in 1979. The 1986 plan noted that inclusion of aquatic preserve waters in the Outstanding Florida Waters classification greatly enhances the protective provisions of Chapter 258.

Section 258.42 of the Florida Statutes sets the maintenance rules for all preserves, including the lagoon off Sebastian. No further sale, lease or transfer of sovereignty submerged lands may be approved except when it is in the public interest. No further dredging or filling of submerged lands may be approved except for listed purposes such as minimum dredging for public navigation projects, maintenance dredging of existing channels, and marinas, piers and docks. The statute bars drilling of gas or oil wells and excavation of minerals within a preserve, and private residential docks may be approved for reasonable ingress and egress of riparian owners.

One provision applies to this preserve alone. Section 258.39(7)(b) states that, for the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve, a lease of sovereign submerged lands for a noncommercial dock may be deemed in the public interest when the dock is a reasonable exercise of riparian rights and consistent with the values the preserve was created to protect. For boaters, FDEP notes that seagrass is protected within aquatic preserves, and damage to seagrass can result in a fine up to $1,000. The 1986 plan also set a policy to prohibit trimming or removal of mangroves within the preserve except for legally authorized projects.

FDEP lists oysters and horseshoe crabs, wading birds, seabirds and shorebirds, Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, West Indian manatee, green and loggerhead sea turtles, and redfish, black drum, tarpon, snook and mullet among the preserve species, along with seagrasses and red, black and white mangroves. The 1986 plan stated that manatees are commonly found in the preserve and that Sebastian Creek was then under study because of the high incidence of manatees there.

Water chemistry changes along the preserve. The 1986 plan states that Sebastian Inlet is the only opening to the ocean in this area, and that salinities ranged from 20 to 26 parts per thousand near Malabar to 30 to 36 parts per thousand at Sebastian. The Sebastian Inlet District notes the inlet itself is manmade, and the plan observed that dredging and stabilization of Sebastian Inlet, along with the Intracoastal Waterway, changed historical flushing and circulation in the lagoon.

Spoil islands are a defining feature. The plan counted approximately 55 spoil islands built from Intracoastal Waterway dredge material, and FDEP states that spoil islands support the majority of bird rookeries in the Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve system. Their interiors are mostly exotic Brazilian pepper and Australian pine, while their shallow edges near Sebastian and Wabasso have been colonized by mangrove forest, salt marsh and seagrass beds.

FDEP lists an extensive network of boat ramps, kayak launches and open shoreline, naming Christenson’s Landing, MacWilliams Park Boat Ramp, Wabasso Causeway Boat Ramp, Main Street Boat Ramp, Sebastian Inlet State Park, Dale Wimbrow Park and Jorgenson’s Landing. Several sit on the Sebastian side of the lagoon, and the Sebastian Inlet District reports that the inlet channel is used by more than 15,000 boats annually. FDEP lists the Environmental Learning Center, the Barrier Island Sanctuary and Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as educational partners.

The preserve is managed by the FDEP Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection as part of the Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves system, and FDEP lists bird nesting protection, mangrove planting, oyster reef restoration and seagrass surveys among its conservation work. Indian River County runs a parallel lagoon program: the county adopted its Lagoon Management Plan on September 26, 2023, reports removing 2 derelict vessels from the lagoon in winter 2026, and notes that the Indian River Lagoon was designated an estuary of national significance in 1990.