CIB Plans to Restore Meadows of Eelgrass
The Center for the Inland Bays seeks to restore meadows of eelgrass in the shallows of the Inland Bays
The Center of the Inland Bays is working to bring back meadows of eelgrass to the Inland Bays
You’d have to have a long memory to remember a time when eelgrass grew abundantly in the clear shallows of the Inland Bays. Some can remember wading into the grassy underwater meadows to dip out blue crabs; the water so clear you could see them hiding in the grasses.
The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays is working to restore that vision and those rich, productive habitats. Working in partnership with Ecosystem Solutions of Edgewater Maryland, the CIB planted of 120,000 eelgrass seeds in the Rehoboth and Indian River Bays this season in areas deemed good habitat for eelgrass.
It started in late spring when a team from the Center for the Inland Bays went down to Sinepuxent Bay just south of Ocean City, Maryland to collect eelgrass seed. E.J. Chalabala, Restoration Coordinator for the CIB said, “There is a two to three week window of time when seed heads can be harvested from established eel grass beds. We brought the seed back and placed it in flow tanks where water was pumped over and through the seed to keep it alive.”
CIB Restoration Coordinator, E.J. Chalabala, with a handful of eelgrass seed collected in Sinepuxent Bay just south of Ocean City, Maryland
From there, the seed was taken to planting sites that have been identified as ‘good habitat’ through previous test plantings. Before being dropped into the water by hand, the seeds were coated with clay particles to weigh them down so they would sink to the bottom and not float away.
Bay grasses are a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for assessing the health of the Bays. All of the species of bay grass that grow in our region require relatively clear water with low nutrient concentrations, so they are an excellent indicator of water quality. In the Inland Bays, our levels of nitrogen and phosphorous have been too high to support eelgrass. Like all plants, eelgrass needs nutrients, and can grow very well in nutrient rich waters. But when things are out of balance, and nutrient levels are too high, as they are in our Bays, the eelgrasses lose out to the faster growing phytoplankton and macroalgae.
As the water becomes cloudy with blooming phytoplankton, the eelgrass is starved for light and is unable to maintain growth and health. Human activities also pose a hazard; a boat propeller can quickly scar an eelgrass bed and clam digger can dig up the grasses in the search for clams.
Grass shrimp is one of many species that depend on eelgrass habitat; others include blue crabs, bivalves such as hard clams, gastropods (snails), and numerous fish species, such as winter flounder, tautog and cod Photo Credit: John Carroll
Eelgrass beds are a rich habitat for many species; a haven for crabs, scallops, and numerous species of fish and other wildlife. The grassy underwater meadows provide protection from predators and abundant food. They also assist in stabilizing the sediment which helps to suppress sand movement.
According to the research presented in the 2011 State of the Delaware Inland Bays Report, by the late 1970’s, eelgrasses and most other bay grass species could not be found in the Inland Bays. Efforts made in the 1990’s resulted in the restoration of one acre of eelgrass in Indian River Bay off Pasture Point. By comparison, the Maryland Coastal Bays just to the south of the Inland Bays had over ten thousand acres of bay grass in 2006.
The research presented in the 2011 State of the Inland Bays Report showed a positive trend in water quality in the Inland Bays. Big improvements in nutrient management have occurred and are showing positive results in decreasing nutrient loads from all sources in most bays.
“The Center for the Inland Bays is committed to restoring eelgrass to the Inland Bays by identifying areas in the bays where the conditions are favorable for eelgrass reestablishment and by testing techniques for seeding and planting,” according to Chalabala.
For more information about this project, contact E.J. Chalabala at 302-226-8105 or e-mail at restoration@inlandbays.org
The Center for the Inland Bays is a nonprofit organization, one of 28 National Estuary Programs, and works to improve water quality in the Delaware Inland Bays.
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So Many Ways to Help the Bays
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Join us for these upcoming events.
- Finance & Executive Committee Meetings
2:30 pm - March 20, 2012 - CIB Board of Director's Meeting
9:30 am - March 30, 2012 - Native Plant Sale
9:00 am - May 5, 2012 - Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
9:00 am - May 11, 2012 - Diamondback Dash
9:00 am - May 19, 2012 -
