A sea urchin roundup will be held in the St. Joe Bay tomorrow.
The Urchin Round Up is a cooperative effort between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and wildlife conservation Commission.
The event has volunteers remove urchins from the St. Joe Bay in an effort to protect seagrasses there.
The urchins are moved to deeper water.
Sea urchins consume large amounts of 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 next event will be held on Saturday, September 9th starting at 8AM.
You will be able to register to take part on the day of the event at the Frank Pate Boat ramp in Port St. Joe.
You will need your own boat and snorkeling equipment.
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