COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE FLORIDA 2002 AWARD WINNER
Seagrass Recovery, Inc.

The importance of submerged seagrass beds to Florida is now well documented. Seagrasses provide stabilization of shallow bottoms, improve water quality, and are critical nursery areas for many important commercial and recreational fisheries.

Our food chain depends on seagrass where juvenile fish and crustaceans hide and feed. Sea cows and turtles also eat the vegetation. Phytoplankton, microscopic algae that small fish eat, begin life on the blades of grass. One mature red fish may spawn one million eggs, but if there are no seagrass beds in which to hide, the juvenile fish will be easy prey or disappear with the current. Crabs and shrimp hide and live in the forest we call seagrass, and without the beds they too will become sparse. Seagrass is the major player in all of the aquatic life cycle.

As Florida's population continues to increase, more people are attracted to the recreational opportunities that shallow estuaries provide, placing increased stress on the resources that drew people in the first place. The increase in propeller scaring of seagrass beds is becoming a major concern statewide.

Jim Anderson, a Ruskin sod farmer, used his years of experience in agriculture to develop a boat designed to plant seagrasses. In November 2000, Anderson completed the fabrication of the seagrass Mega Unit Transplanting Vessel (MUTV). This patented vessel was designed to remove and replant 4x5 slabs of seagrass. Three additional vessels were completed in 2001.

In addition to the seagrass transplant and injection boats, Anderson has developed a sand sock sediment tube to stabilize and repair seagrass prop scars and blowout areas with positive results now being documented.

Successful seagrass recovery efforts have been documented for Cockroach Bay and at Lignumvitae Key. Preliminary results at Port Manatee are very positive for the success of the MUTV.

All over Florida's coastal areas there are thousands of acres of seagrass habitat in stress and need of restoration. Jim Anderson's innovative vessels and procedures can have a positive impact on seagrass recovery efforts statewide.

For further information, please contact:

Jim Anderson

Seagrass Recovery, Inc.

4331 Cockroach Bay Road

Ruskin, FL 33570

813-641-6763

Halodule@aol.com