The St. Maarten Nature Foundation is doing a large-scale assessment of the seagrass meadows surrounding the island. Over the course of the next few months the Foundation will be examining the extent, health impacts and threats to seagrass meadows in St. Maarten territorial waters. Seagrass meadows are like underwater lawns that play important ecological and environmental roles; they provide providing food and shelter to numerous animals including conch, lobster, stingrays and the endangered Green sea turtle. Seagrasses act as a nursery for many species of reef and deep sea fish that feed and hide between the blades of grass from predators and help clean seawater by absorbing harmful chemicals and nutrients. Seagrasses also protect the coastlines and coastal communities by weakening wave energy from hurricanes and strong storms.
One of the main goals of the research is to determine some of the most significant threats to Seagrasses, including damage from boat anchors, pollution and dredging. During initial research Nature Foundation collected numerous plastic bags on seagrass beds which significantly damage the meadows. When a plastic bag covers a grass patch, sunlight cannot reach the grass causing seagrass die-off. The Foundation is also researching the impacts dredging has had on the seagrass beds, particularly in Great Bay and Simpson Bay.
Seagrasses have been classified by the United Nations Environmental Program as one of the most at-risk or endangered ecosystems on the planet. Aside from Coral reefs, Seagrasses both inside and outside of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area are some of the most important areas in territorial waters. The Nature Foundation hopes that with the seagrass research and mapping project informed decisions can be made regarding coastal development projects and the impacts they may have on the natural underwater landscape.