Five Facts About Martin County’s Marine Industry

A few fun facts about the local marine industry—one of the main pillars of Martin County’s economy:

Location, Location, Location: In addition to enjoying easy access to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, Martin County hosts a latticework of waterways—large and small.

Larger waterways include the St. Lucie River, whose North Fork flows toward St. Lucie County and whose South Fork flows through Palm City. The Loxahatchee River in Hobe Sound is federally designated as a “Wild and Scenic River,” and the Indian River Lagoon is the most diverse estuary on the continent.

Local streams and creeks feeding the rivers include Bessy Creek, Mapp Creek, Warner Creek, Britt Creek, Haney Creek, Kitching Creek, and Krueger Creek, among others.

Manmade waterways include the C-23 and C-24 canals as well as the C-44, or St. Lucie Canal, which connects the South Fork of the St. Lucie River to Lake Okeechobee. This opens up the Okeechobee Waterway, the only boat passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It runs right through Martin County and is an essential maritime commerce lane.

Top Boatbuilders: The marine industry is an economic driver credited with employing more than 10,000 people and generating $1.2 billion annually across the region. Countywide, the industry maintains nearly 2,500 jobs and produces close to $200 million a year in annual wages.

Martin County is home to some of the nation’s best-known boatbuilders such as Jim Smith Tournament Boats, L&H Boats, Gamefisherman, Willis Custom Yachts, and Whiticar Boat Works. Even though their boat manufacturing operations occur in Maine, the presence of world-renowned boatbuilders such as Hinckley—which recently expanded its Stuart yacht and service center—testify to our community’s prominence in the industry.

This innovative environment is enticing to exciting upstarts. Examples include Catch Boatworks, which created a boat that combines characteristics ideal for both inshore and offshore fishing, and Weedoo Boats, whose vessels specialize in removing aquatic invasives without the use of pesticides. The Business Development Board of Martin County had the pleasure of recently attracting both companies to Stuart.

Famous Fisherman: President Grover Cleveland was among the first to fall in love with the local fishing. As far back as 1899, prior to the City of Stuart’s incorporation in 1914 and the county’s formation in 1925, Cleveland—then out of office for two years—was aboard a train that was delayed during an extended stop at the Stuart station. He struck up a conversation with a passerby. They bonded over their shared love of angling and the two ended up spending time fishing local waterways.

Cleveland loved the town so much he purchased property where Stuart City Hall now sits, but died before getting to build upon it.

Biologically diversity: Due to its brackish consistency, the Indian River Lagoon is home to more than 4,000 plant and animal species total and hosts more threatened and endangered species than any estuary in all of North America.

That diversity is due largely to the St. Lucie Estuary, which is where the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie Inlet meet. The blend of fresh water and saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean create complex habitats whose mangrove forests and seagrass beds sustain a variety of wildlife. As many as 500 species of fish have been documented within a two-mile radius. Other notable examples of marine life are sea turtles, alligators, bottlenose dolphins, manatees and rate birds.

“Sailfish Capital”: Stuart’s official moniker goes back to a promotional campaign led by legendary Stuart News editor Ernie Lyons. In 1938, Lyons invited top outdoor writers from across the country to visit for a week and fish local waters. They caught more than 1,000 sailfish in less than a week and the designation was declared.

A mass migration of sailfish to the region three years later led to a huge harvest and in time inspired Capt. Curt Whiticar to instill conservation methods that still influence many of modern day’s catch-and-release practices.