Dozens of broken-down, abandoned boats being removed from Indian River Lagoon

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A massive cleanup is underway to help the Indian River Lagoon by removing broken-down boats.

Some have been there since the last hurricane season, and it’s a constant concern for the county.

34 abandoned boats have been removed from the Indian River Lagoon as of Friday. The goal is to get rid of more than 50 boats that are a hazard and damaging the environment.

A speedboat – Tony’s Toy II – is no longer living in the lagoon. The boat sunk, and no one claimed it so the county’s clearing it out.

"It’s kind of a slow process, keep our fingers crossed that the weather works with us," said Matt Culver’s who’s overseeing the removals.

The county’s working with $330,000 in grant funding to break down the vessels and take what’s left to a landfill.

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"What happens when a storm comes through, they break free obviously, or they sink. Bridge pumps don’t work, batteries don’t work, so the boats go down," he added.

Culver is Brevard County's boating and waterways program coordinator. He says when boats sink, it kills seagrass and other people on the water can run into them.

People who were watching the removal along the Melbourne Causeway on Friday are relieved something is being done about the issue.

"I am glad they are," said Bill Primpis who lives on the Space Coast. "I’ve seen quite a few of them, and it’s a shame. A lot of them are in good condition, but they’ve been washed up, and they can’t be retrieved easily."

Crews will continue removing the boats from the lagoon for the next four to six weeks, and the next boat the county is focusing on is in Malabar.

The sheriff’s office is also involved with this process. If they can find the registered owners, they will be fined and forced to pay for these removals.