Chesapeake Bay Foundation Applauds Bay Grasses Continued Recovery

Underwater grasses, a key barometer for Chesapeake Bay health, experienced an increase overall this past year, according to the 2023 results of the annual Chesapeake Bay grasses survey released today. 

The extent of the Bay’s underwater grasses increased by seven percent to an estimated total of 82,937 acres, the results of the survey conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science indicated. 

This is good news for the Bay since these underwater meadows improve water quality and provide critical shelter and food for Bay species like the blue crab, migrating water birds, and juvenile fish. Sometimes called the ‘Tums’ of the Bay, these grasses also diminish Bay acidification caused in part by greenhouse gas emissions. Through carbon uptake and sequestration, underwater grasses are also a critical tool to mitigate climate change.

However, the overall increase wasn’t experienced evenly across the Bay. Slightly salty areas of the Bay saw a major decrease attributed to algal blooms and sediment, while cooler water stemming from La Niña fueled a significant increase in the saltier Lower Bay’s underwater grasses. No underwater grasses at all were mapped in the Elk River despite the tributary meeting its grasses goals repeatedly since 2000.

This year’s survey still represents a major decline from the 2018 survey, which estimated approximately 108,000 acres of grasses. But it does get the Bay closer to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement target of 185,000 acres of underwater grasses covering the bottom of the Bay and its tidal tributaries. The Bay states won’t meet many of the outcomes by the 2025 deadline set by the agreement. CBF continues to urge Bay watershed leaders to recommit to the multi-state Bay restoration partnership this December.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Vice President for Environmental Protection and Restoration Alison Prost issued the following statement:

“We must dramatically reduce pollution long-term to give the Bay's underwater grasses a fighting chance in the face of climate change and rising seas. The seven percent growth indicated in this year’s survey marks the third annual increase in Bay grasses, a bright spot in a longer history of mixed results for Bay grass restoration. This increase benefits keystone Bay species like blue crabs, which use grass beds for shelter, protection from predators, and reproduction.

“But there’s still a long way to go. This increase doesn’t offset major declines in underwater grasses from five years ago, and we aren’t even at the halfway point of the 185,000-acre underwater grasses goal that states committed to in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

“For a healthier future Chesapeake Bay, Bay watershed leaders must recommit to the Bay partnership this December and chart a future course for Bay restoration that addresses new challenges like climate change and reflects scientific updates. Those scientific recommendations include focusing restoration efforts on shallow-water habitat. If that is done, we could reach the 185,000-acre goal.”