print

County Observing Seagrass Awareness Month

For immediate release: Date: March 23, 2007
Contact: Ginny Powell, 561-233-2452
Julie Bishop, 561-233-2446

Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) wants the citizens of Palm Beach County to be aware that March is Seagrass Awareness Month.

Seagrasses are one of the most productive and ecologically important habitats in Florida’s estuaries and coastal lagoons. They are flowering underwater plants that stabilize bottom sediments, trap and recycle nutrients, and provide important habitat for fish, invertebrates, birds, marine mammals and sea turtles.

Six species of seagrasses grow in Palm Beach County, primarily in Lake Worth Lagoon (LWL) which contains the largest known beds of Halophia johnsonii, or Johnson’s seagrass, in the county.

Seagrass beds cover approximately 1,600 acres or 22 percent of the LWL. The majority of Palm Beach County’s seagrass beds are located in the north end of LWL. Jupiter Sound and Lake Wyman are also home to sizeable beds of seagrass.

Seagrass beds have been reduced in LWL, a loss triggered by dredge-and-fill activities, a decline in water quality, dock development and damage from motor boats. As boats carve through shallow grass flats, their propellers cut sandy trenches that may stay barren for years.

This is a good time to remind boaters to be careful when navigating in shallow water.

Please follow these simple rules to avoid damaging seagrass beds:

• Use poles and/or a depth finder to avoid areas too shallow for your boat.
• If you run aground, turn off the engine, raise the motor and push/pole to deeper water.
• If necessary, wait for high tide to move your boat.
• When anchoring in or near seagrasses, secure your boat at a dock or mooring ball. Otherwise, anchor in sand only.