Current Issues

Sea Grasses

The sea grass meadows extending along the Gulf Coast and the Big Bend is a resource critical to Florida's commercial and recreational fishing industries. It is where fish species find their birth place and essential nurture.

The meadows are adversely affected by effluent cooling water discharged from power generating plants, excess levels of industrial and agricultural pollutant run off, too high levels of nutrients from human population growth in the hinterland, and too little fresh water component in the waters reaching the estuarine areas from coastal river systems.

The high correlation between phosphorous levels and the amount of chlorophyll in the water causing shading from sunlight, is harmful when the mix of submersed aquatic vegetation in a river run fails to take up sufficient phosphorous during the flow from source to the estuary.