FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2015
BISCAYNE BAY AQUATIC PRESERVES CELEBRATES MARCH AS SEAGRASS AWARENESS MONTH
~ Local
government officials discuss the importance of seagrasses ~
 Mayor Connie Leon-Kreps reads the Seagrass Awareness Month Proclamation.
MIAMI
–
Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves staff joined the Mayor of North Bay Village Connie
Leon-Kreps, North Bay Village Commissioners and area residents, to discuss
the importance of seagrasses to Miami-Dade County’s ecology and economy. Mayor
Leon-Kreps read the official proclamation along the aquatic preserves shoreline
with several seagrass species exhibited.
“Awareness of the dangers facing seagrass, a vital
natural resource, will help to create an understanding of the ways seagrass
damage can impact both the economic and ecological value of our marine
resources,” said Mayor Leon-Kreps.
Participants visited a seagrass
restoration site by catamaran cruise, learned proper boating
techniques in a shallow bay, viewed endangered Bottlenose Dolphins foraging and
listened to the calls of birds roosting at a bird rookery. The highlight was the release of a rehabilitated pelican, injured from marine debris, by the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station staff.
“From residents to the city manager, the chief of
police to the mayor herself, the North Bay Village community came out to
celebrate Seagrass Awareness Month,” said Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves
Manager Pamela Sweeney. “For many participants, this was the first time
actually seeing their city – a chain of islands – by water.”
Seagrass beds, an important economic driver, provided over
$4.1 million in commercial harvest to
Miami-Dade County last year. Thousands of acres of seagrass beds run throughout
Biscayne Bay, comprising all seven species of seagrasses known to grow within the
Caribbean.
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