Isn’t the health of seagrasses more at risk from factors other than propeller scarring?
There are other factors that can affect seagrass health, and they include anything that will uproot them as well as anything which limits sunlight penetrating to the grasses. Seagrasses like all green plants must have sunlight to grow. Disturbances can be natural, such as hurricanes, algal blooms, or high runoff from rivers during floods. Man-made disturbances include: dredge and fill, nutrient loading, and propeller scarring. Dredging can remove the grasses directly, cover them up by depositing spoil on top of them, and limit light penetration from resulting turbidity. Excessive nutrient loading leads to algal blooms which limit sunlight. Prop scars on an individual basis may seem minimal compared to other threats, but when multiplied by the thousands may be considered a serious impact as well. This threat can be readily addressed by simply changing the way we utilize the shallowest areas of the flats.
