41 volunteers came out on Saturday to help remove sea urchins from the St. Joe Bay in the first ever Urchin Round Up.
The group removed 5731 urchins from a single collection area.
The urchins were relocated to deeper water.
The urchins were removed to help protect sea grasses in the bay.
Sea urchins consume large amounts of both living and detrital seagrass and in some instances, urchin-grazing rates can lead to overgrazing which damages the seagrass beds.
The underwater grasses are extremely important because a single acre of seagrass can support as many as 40,000 fish and more than 70 percent of Florida’s recreational and commercial fisheries depend on seagrass to provide a nursery ground for marine life.
The grasses also maintain water quality and clarity by stabilizing bottom sediments and filtering nutrients from stormwater run-off.
The Urchin Round Up was a cooperative effort between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and wildlife conservation Commission.
They are planning a second Urchin Round Up for later this summer.
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