Sea Grass Growth Slightly Down in Clearwater Officials Say

Sea grass is growing at an exponential rate across Tampa Bay.

But not in Clearwater.

Overall, sea grass growth in Tampa Bay area waters is up 11 percent since 2008, according to a report released earlier this week by the Southwest Water Management District. However, in Clearwater Harbor, the number is down, slightly, by about 100 acres.

The study mapped 17,485 acres of sea grass in the St. Joseph’s Sound and Clearwater Harbor area. In Clearwater, sea grass growth is 4,666 acres. There were 4,784 acres of sea grass in the same area in 2008, according to Kris Kauffman, an environmental scientist for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, who worked on the study.

Scientists tracked sea grass growth from boats and planes using aerial photography and underwater cameras to get the information for their maps.

“It’s just a plant and so 100 acres in a grand scheme of things of 17,00o isn’t a huge change, its really small,” Kaufman said.

Sea grass numbers might be down slightly, but historically the plant is doing well. Sea grass is an important factor to gauge the health of a waterway. Sea grass helps produce oxygen in the water and stabilize a host of marine life.

“In the 1980s the water quality was poorer," Kaufman said. "That 20 year period has seen sea grass recover simpy with better (water) conditions.”

She said sea grass can grow in water up to six feet deep. Some sea grass in Clearwater was growing under nine feet of water.

Kaufman said some factors helping the rebound include the drought the area has been in for the last few years. That leads to less storm water runoff that carries fertilizer, oil and other pollutants into the water, she said.

That makes the water clearer for light to reach the sandy bottom, helping sea grass grow.

She said the plant is naturally dynamic and the loss in Clearwater could be a result of shifting sediments in passes.

“Sediments do shift, it’s very well known and all those passes and the sediments can shift like crazy, it can cover over sea grass and smother it,” Kaufman said. “It’s absolutely something that can be recovered from."

Clearwater Sea Grass Change

Clearwater North 2008 - 3,784 

Clearwater North 2010 - 3,759

Clearwater South 2008 - 1,000

Clearwater South 2010 - 907

Total Change - 118 acres