Seagrass Restoration

In June, Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute completed its largest seagrass restoration planting to date in the Indian River Lagoon. Over two days, the team harvested and planted five transects of shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) in roughly five feet of water at the deeper edge of an existing seagrass meadow. The seagrass had been grown in the Harbor Branch Seagrass Nursery in water pumped directly from the lagoon. By planting in a deeper area, researchers from FAU’s Seagrass Ecology and Ecosystem Science Laboratory are testing restoration strategies where seagrass had not yet been able to recover. The site will be monitored weekly for the next several months to perform maintenance and collect data.