Seagrass Restoration
Thanks to generous funding from the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program, the
Florida Coastal Management Program, the Garcon Point
Restoration Trust Fund, the Gulf of Mexico
Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and Ocean’s Initiative, the FDEP
seagrass restoration program attempts to reduce seagrass degradation and to restore the seagrass
beds along the Gulf Coast of the Florida panhandle.
Currently, the FDEP seagrass restoration program
consists of three components: salvage, laboratory
tissue culture and aquaculture. The seagrass salvage
program recovers seagrasses which would otherwise be
lost as a result of marine construction (i.e. docks,
piers) and transplants the grass to areas of similar
habitat where beds are in need of restoration.
Currently, we are in the pilot phase of an
aquaculture operation at the FDEP nursery facility
utilizing Halodule wrightii (shoal grass)
obtained from salvages in the local area.
 
Another method of SAV restoration involves lab
propagated seagrass. In vitro micropropagation
offers a low cost, highly efficient, and
non-destructive technique for propagating seagrasses
at rates that are much higher than those obtained
with other methods of propagation.
The seagrass, Ruppia maritima, is propagated
in test tubes, placed onto biodegradable coconut
fiber mats and installed on the seafloor of
protected, shallow areas of our local Bay systems.
Our largest undertaking utilizing lab-grown R.
maritima is at Project GreenShores Site I in
Pensacola Bay, where thick meadows of R. maritima
can be seen. In 2004, fifty square meters (50
m2) of lab cultured R. maritima
was installed at Site 1 to aid in the establishment
of the seagrass beds. To date, we have measured over
ten thousand square meters (10000 m2) of
R. maritima at this location. We also utilize
naturally occurring R. maritima which we
obtain as drift material. In the case of
R. maritima, this drift material occurs as a natural propagation
in the fall when plants shed their apical meristems,
which then "drift" to nearby areas, settle to the
sea botttom and colonize. Utilizing this drift
material from nearby Hawkshaw Lagoon, we planted
thirty-five square meters (35m2)
to date at Project GreenShores Site 2. Future
restoration endeavors utilizing lab grown and drift
obtained R. maritima include additional
plantings at Project GreenShores Site 2 as well as
other protected sites within the Pensacola Bay
system in conjunction with our oyster reef
restoration program.
Additional Information
For more information,
contact:
Amy Baldwin
|
Northwest District -Seagrass Restoration Program
