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If there is an active policy by environmental managers today, it 

 is usually toward conservation of eelgrass. In Westport, a large parcel 

 of tidal flat, with extensive eelgrass coverage, is set aside as a 

 shellfish refuge. On Nantucket, a multimillion dollar scallop industry 

 is based within extensive eelgrass beds within a coastal lagoon. To 

 reduce physical damage to the eelgrass beds by the scallop dredges, the 

 shellfish warden has persuaded local fisherman to remove some weight 

 from their scallop dredges so that they skim the surface, cropping 

 eelgrass leaves, but leaving behind roots and rhizomes to regenerate. 



At all levels of management, lack of knowledge about the 

 importance of eelgrass, eelgrass bed locations, and the effects human 

 impacts, has limited proper management of this resource. 



Implications of changing eelgrass abundance 



This study raises several questions relating to the management of 

 eelgrass beds and interpretation of their changing abundance. It is 

 apparent that most eelgrass disappeared in Buzzards Bay as a result of 

 the wasting disease, then gradually recovered over many decades. 

 Superimposed on this trend are complex patterns of destruction and 

 recolonization driven by catastrophic storms, ice scour, and 

 anthropogenic disturbance. 



One consistent trend observed was the continual expansion of 

 eelgrass on the outer coast and well flushed areas. Here, occasionally 

 moderate declines in eelgrass abundance result from ice scouring and 

 catastrophic storms, but these beds typically recover after several 

 years. In contrast, many poorly flushed bays did not recover 



