Rotating News Article

For:    Week of March 31, 2003

By:     Chris Verlinde, Extension Marine Agent

Santa Rosa County Extension Service

Telephone: 850/623-3868 or 939-1259, ext. 1360

 “Seagrass… it’s Alive”

The 3^rd annual Seagrass Awareness Celebration was held at Shoreline Park South March 22, 2003. More than 200 children and adults enjoyed many marine oriented hands-on activities at this family event. The celebration was sponsored by the Northwest Florida Aquatic and Buffer Preserves Office, UF/IFAS Santa Rosa County Sea Grant Extension and the Pensacola Bay Area Environmental Education Coordination Team.  

Participants were able to learn how to throw a cast net, cast a fishing pole, make a shark’s tooth necklace, make a scallop shell necklace, eat a seagrass meadow, build a seagrass meadow, learn how marine critters depend on seagrass beds, learn about fishing bag limits, race hermit crabs, learn about artificial reefs, crawl through a turtle excluding device, and learn kayaking skills and safety. In addition, the Resource Ranger provided t-shirts to those who participated in a lesson about stormwater runoff and how it affects our waterbodies.

Gulf Breeze Middle School Science Olympiads’ Kimberly Dirschka and Sara Stout demonstrated water quality testing techniques. The students interpreted the results of the tests, and discussed impacts the results may have on our local waterbodies.   

The Barracuda Dive Club members created excitement when they arrived dressed as a Seahorse, Jellyfish, Shark and Spongebob. The sea creatures interacted with children and adults and provided marine life information at the touch tanks.

The Gulf Breeze Power Squadron provided boat safety inspections at the boat ramp and Captain Robert Turpin of the Escambia County Marine Resources Division provided his famous Captain Rob/Captain Slob boating safety demonstration.

The biggest attraction was the 3 touch pools set up at the beach. Children seined and used dip nets to catch local marine critters in the nearshore seagrass beds. The tanks contained a large stingray, seahorses, scallops, hermit, blue and rock crabs, pinfish, pipefish (a relative of the seahorse), bay anchovies, shrimp and more! With all organisms being caught right from the seagrass beds, the touch pools are a great learning tool to educate about the importance of seagrass beds!  

This Seagrass Awareness initiative began in the Florida Keys in 1998 in response to an alarming increase in boater impacts to seagrass habitat in shallow water.  Realizing that this was a statewide issue, the Florida Keys Seagrass Outreach Partnership (SOP) was formed, and the partnership worked with the governor’s office to proclaim March as “Seagrass Awareness Month” in Florida.  This initiative began as a tool to “spread the word” to help residents, visitors, and resource protection managers and educators better understand the important role seagrass communities play in the health of our marine ecosystem.

Seagrasses are a valuable part of the marine environment and support a thriving million-dollar fishery.  Most commercial and recreationally important fish, crabs and shrimp spend some time of their lives in seagrass beds.  These beds help to filter toxins from the water, contribute to water clarity by trapping suspended sediments, provide food and shelter for juvenile fish, shrimp and crabs, provide food for manatees, green sea turtles, and migratory birds depend on seagrass beds for foraging needs! Threats to these important resources include: degraded water quality, dredge and fill projects and physical impacts from boat propellers. 

In our area, the “true” marine seagrass species include:  shoal grass (Halodule wrightii), turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme), and some species of Halophia.  In the upper parts of the bays, another ecologically important submerged aquatic plant is tape grass, (Vallisneria americana).

The term submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a general term that includes grasses found submerged in salt, brackish and fresh water environments.

Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin.

For information on these events and volunteer opportunities, contact Chris Verlinde, Santa Rosa County Marine Extension Agent at 623-3868, (from the south end of the county 939-1259 ext. 1259), or christinav@co.santa-rosa.fl.us.