Md. - Conditions aren't improving for Chesapeake Bay grasses, which provide an important habitat for blue crabs and other underwater creatures, a report released Thursday said. Overall acreage of the submerged grasses crept up just one percent last year - about half of a multistate restoration goal, the Chesapeake Bay Program report said. We are concerned any time we see losses that significant.
Scientists believe algae prevents the grasses from growing more.
The bay grasses provide oxygen, serve as shelter and food to many marine animals and prevent erosion. Blue crab nurseries showed some gains. In Tangier Sound, where juvenile blue crabs rely on the grasses for concealment from predators, the bay's largest underwater meadows expanded by nearly 3,000 acres last year. It was the second year in a row that the grasses grew back, showing signs of recovery after mysterious, enormous losses in 1998. In Maryland's portion of the sound, the grasses now cover nearly 10,000 acres.