Eelgrass, "illustated"

Rowed my boat to the end of our bay at low tide to get a picture of the healthy eel grass growing there. Researchers in the area are mapping the eelgrass beds in the Salish Sea in order to see where they exist (low intertidal to shallow subtidal, muddy or sandy bays where the rhizome can anchor itself) and establish a baseline of their health for future monitoring. It’s a marine plant, not a seaweed.

Here is what the Islands Trust website tells us
“Eelgrass (zostera marina) meadows serve as nursery habitat, providing food and protection for over 80% of commercially important fish and shellfish species at some point in their lifetimes. Dubbed the “salmon highways”, eelgrass habitat is essential to the survival of all species of salmon along our coast. the productivity of seagrasses rivals the world’s richest rainforests.

Eelgrass habitats capture and store large amounts of carbon at much more efficient rates than terrestrial forests.  Scientists estimate the salt marshes and seagrass meadows of B.C. sequester the equivalent of the emissions of some 200,000 passenger cars.

Contaminates and shoreline development put pressure on fragile eelgrass meadow ecosystems.  To protect eelgrass, we need to know where it is.  We're mapping eelgrass habitat so that we can better plan our strategies to conserve these valuable underwater ecosystems”

I think there is more than ever this year in this place. Here the water is about 1 1/2 feet deep. If you are interested, here’s a factsheet. from Oregon...

Making dinner tonight for blipper Islandcat and hubby, so I’m off to the kitchen...(scallops and mushrooms on the grill, a pasta, a green salad, and lemon pie with blueberries.)