SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Earlier this year, in April, the Southwest Florida Water Management District released that Tampa Bay lost 13% of its seagrass over two years ending in 2020. However, recently the district found that the percent was actually higher.
Last week, the water management district stated that the loss was actually 16% (6,353 acres) rather than the 13% ( 5285 acres). This makes for a difference of 3% or 1068 acres of seagrass beds.
Further down the coast, here in Sarasota, our bay had lost 18% meanwhile down in Charlotte Harbor there had been a reduction by 23%.
Justin Bloom, the found of Suncoast Waterkeeper, explained “that it kind of signals the really bad case scenario that we are afraid of.” He further explained that “our estuaries are facing the same progression of worsening conditions that we saw over in Indian River Lagoon, which has just crashed.”
Indian River Lagoon’s conditions and loss of sea grass lead to an early year mass die of of manatees amounting to over 300. The manatee death rates continue to soar and shatter the record. As of September 3rd the death total was at 937.
This has become a dire issue as seagrass provides a home or habitat to many species and is also a food source for them too.
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