A Disappearing Act

Ask David Heinke about the loss of seagrass near Apalachicola, and he will tell you just how devastating this loss is to the local economy.

“[Losing the seagrass] affects how I've fished and where I've fished,” said Heinke, a fishing guide with Robinson Brothers Charters. “Change the fishery and it affects our business drastically—we potentially even go out of business.”

Some might consider seagrass a weed. So why is its preservation so vital to the economy of Apalachicola?

Randall Hughes discussing the importance of local
seagrass at the FSU Marine Laboratory in St. Teresa.

Randall Hughes, assistant scholar scientist at the FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory in St. Teresa, explains that seagrass is what scientists call an “indicator species,” basically an aquatic canary in a coal mine. If seagrass disappears, then the rest of the environment is in trouble.

“Seagrasses do a lot of photosynthesis. They store carbon created when other plants die  in the water,” Hughes says. Seagrass beds act like rainforests by processing excess carbon dioxide and emitting helpful oxygen back into the water.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, “Fifty-five percent of the atmospheric carbon captured by living organisms is taken up at sea. Between 50 and 71 percent of this carbon is captured by the ocean's vegetated Blue Carbon habitats—mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses and seaweed.”

Development is a major cause of seagrass depletion. Land development causes stripping of nutrient-rich topsoil. Through rain and irrigation, the soil eventually runs off into gulf waters, creating hazardous mineral imbalances. The process of utrophication, or nutrient enrichment in coastal waters, significantly alters the water column in such a way it hinders seagrass growth.

Author of many books on nature and co-owner of the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory, Anne Rudloe explains the dire situation, “These grasses depend on clear water. If you get excess nutrients, sewage, or fertilizer in the water, it creates plankton blooms and the water turns murky green. Then algae starts growing on the blades of grass, which blocks sunlight for photosynthesis, and pretty soon there are no grass beds.”

Heinke has seen this in action, “I've seen a seagrass bed the size of a football field disappear and turn into a sand pit in just a few years.”

State and local government have attempted to enact laws and regulations that protect seagrasses. Local ordinances in both Franklin County (Subdivision Ordinance 89-7) and Gulf County (Subdivision Plat Approval Process) were created to help protect the natural resources in these counties.

The state has also tried to develop programs. According to the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition's January 2012 report, “Florida has failed to ensure the long-term protection and resiliency of its beaches by continuing to allow—and even subsidize—high-risk development adjacent to (and directly on) the most critical eroding beaches in the state.”

Another source of seagrass bed destruction comes in the form of scarring caused by careless boating. As the Gulf Coast becomes a more popular destination for vacationers and recreational fishing, more boats are launched in coastal waters. Florida Statute 253.04 was created to protect state lands, including seagrass beds, by establishing fines for boaters “carelessly causing seagrass scarring.”

Shoal grass is one of the more popular types of
grasses found in the Panhandle.
Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration/Department of Commerce

Kent Smith, biological administrator for the Aquatic Habitat Conservation and Restoration Section of the Florida Wildlife and Fish Conservation Commission (FWC), says that the law is difficult to enforce.

“You have to actually demonstrate [an offense],” Smith says. “The only way a law enforcement officer will catch you doing that is if your boat has run aground. So it's a bit of a challenge for officers to make the case. You have to relate a boater's actions to the actual damage.”

Since enacting this legislation, no citations have been written and only two warnings have been issued in the entire state.

According to the FWC, Florida lost more than 50 percent of its seagrass acreage between the 1960s and the early 1990s. “Seventy to eighty percent of recreational and commercially important species spend some portion of their lives in those estuarine habitats. Without seagrasses, those animals cannot exist,” Smith said.

These organizations are working in the Big Bend and Panhandle area to protect seagrasses and other natural resources on our coastlines. To learn more about them, visit their websites:

Apalachicola Riverkeeper: www.apalachicolariverkeeper.org/

1000 Friends of Florida: www.1000friendsofflorida.org/

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory: www.gulfspecimen.org

Big Bend Seagrass Aquatic Preserve: www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/bigbend/

To learn more about seagrasses visit the Department of Environmental Protection's Seagrass Page: www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/seagrass/ or
check out the FWC site: www.myfwc.com/research/habitat/seagrasses/