March 19, 2020

Future of Seagrass in New Jersey

by S-FX.com

seagrass sav submerged aquatic vegetation

On March 9th, over 25 scientists, managers, and restoration practitioners from the mid-Atlantic region gathered at Ocean County College to discuss the future of seagrass in New Jersey.

Within New Jersey’s estuaries, and especially within the Barnegat Bay, seagrasses like eelgrass (Zostera marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) are key components of the benthic (bottom-dwelling) environment, removing nutrients from the water, providing habitat for economically and ecologically important fish and shellfish species, and protecting coastal properties. Visit the SquidToons website to see Don’t Harass the Seagrass, an educational comic strip illustrating the importance of seagrass.

Seagrass benefits graphic
“Don’t Harass the Seagrass” illustration courtesy of SquidToons.

Over the past half-century, seagrass communities in New Jersey have been in decline due to disease and the effects of eutrophication, falling to their lowest levels in 2009 (see page 60 of the BBP’s State of the Bay Report 2016). In response to these declines, the BBP’s revised Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) includes a goal of restoring 10 acres of seagrass in the bay by 2030.

At the workshop, entitled “Seagrass Restoration: New Science and Best Practices,” attendees heard from Dr. Jessie Jarvis of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington about the results of a study predicting how seagrass in the Barnegat Bay will respond to changes in the bay’s water temperature and water depth over the next 70 years as a result of climate change. Ms. Megan O’Donnell of WSP then provided an overview of her work utilizing an adaptive management plan to reestablish eelgrass near the Barnegat Inlet. The final presentation was from Dr. Elizabeth Lacey of Stockton University, who discussed a new model she is developing to help select suitable sites for seagrass restoration.

The bulk of the workshop was then devoted to facilitated discussions and activities designed to help the BBP and interested partners develop a “Guidance and Best Practices for SAV Restoration in Mid-Atlantic Estuaries” document. As a group, participants developed a list of topics that need to be considered for successful restoration of seagrass, and then broke into small teams to explore each of the topics. The workshop closed with a review of the day’s progress and an agreement that the participants would stay engaged with each other through the development of a “Community of Practice,” a virtual meeting place where seagrass aficionados can ask questions, share seagrass news, and bounce ideas off each other.      

Dr. James Vasslides is the Barnegat Bay Partnership’s Senior Program Scientist.

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UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

 

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

 

Future of Seagrass in New Jersey

On March 9th, over 25 scientists, managers, and restoration practitioners from the mid-Atlantic region gathered at Ocean County College to discuss the future of seagrass in New Jersey.

Within New Jersey’s estuaries, and especially within the Barnegat Bay, seagrasses like eelgrass (Zostera marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) are key components of the benthic (bottom-dwelling) environment, removing nutrients from the water, providing habitat for economically and ecologically important fish and shellfish species, and protecting coastal properties. Visit the SquidToons website to see Don’t Harass the Seagrass, an educational comic strip illustrating the importance of seagrass.

Seagrass benefits graphic
“Don’t Harass the Seagrass” illustration courtesy of SquidToons.

Over the past half-century, seagrass communities in New Jersey have been in decline due to disease and the effects of eutrophication, falling to their lowest levels in 2009 (see page 60 of the BBP’s State of the Bay Report 2016). In response to these declines, the BBP’s revised Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) includes a goal of restoring 10 acres of seagrass in the bay by 2030.

At the workshop, entitled “Seagrass Restoration: New Science and Best Practices,” attendees heard from Dr. Jessie Jarvis of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington about the results of a study predicting how seagrass in the Barnegat Bay will respond to changes in the bay’s water temperature and water depth over the next 70 years as a result of climate change. Ms. Megan O’Donnell of WSP then provided an overview of her work utilizing an adaptive management plan to reestablish eelgrass near the Barnegat Inlet. The final presentation was from Dr. Elizabeth Lacey of Stockton University, who discussed a new model she is developing to help select suitable sites for seagrass restoration.

The bulk of the workshop was then devoted to facilitated discussions and activities designed to help the BBP and interested partners develop a “Guidance and Best Practices for SAV Restoration in Mid-Atlantic Estuaries” document. As a group, participants developed a list of topics that need to be considered for successful restoration of seagrass, and then broke into small teams to explore each of the topics. The workshop closed with a review of the day’s progress and an agreement that the participants would stay engaged with each other through the development of a “Community of Practice,” a virtual meeting place where seagrass aficionados can ask questions, share seagrass news, and bounce ideas off each other.      

Dr. James Vasslides is the Barnegat Bay Partnership’s Senior Program Scientist.

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seagrass sav submerged aquatic vegetation