A second urchin roundup will be held in the St. Joe Bay in September.
The Urchin Round Up is a cooperative effort between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and wildlife conservation Commission.
It has volunteers remove urchins from theSt. Joe Bay in an effort to protect seagrasses there.
The urchins are moved to deeper water.
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.
In May, 41 volunteers came out for the first Urchin Round Up and removed over 5700 urchins from a single collection area.
The next event will be held on September the 25th.
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