Caloosahatchee River seagrass restoration seeks to protect water quality, wildlife habitat

A restoration project in the Caloosahatchee River has wrapped up its second phase as workers planted seagrass in three upstream areas.

To date, Sea & Shoreline, in partnership with the Angler Action Foundation, has planted just more than 20 acres in the area to address harmful algae blooms, rebuild essential fish habitat and provide refuge for manatees seeking warmer waters.

"The Caloosahatchee lost a lot of submerged aquatic vegetation, and we’re continuing to work on getting to a tipping point where the plants start seeding and colonizing other areas,” said Carter Henne, president of Sea & Shoreline, an aquatic restoration company based in Winter Garden.

Henne calls this the halo effect, when the plants start colonizing outside the planting footprint. The company saw success in Crystal River after planting nearly 50 acres and saw expansion in a 200-acre footprint, he said.