Cockroach Bay Seagrass Scar Report Online

An FCCDR research initiative funded by the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, the Seagrass Monitoring Project was conducted from October 2009 until January 2011. The primary goal of the study was to identify and quantify the extent and depth of motor boat propeller scars in seagrass beds within the Manatee Protection Zones of Cockroach Bay, located where the Little Manatee River joins Tampa Bay. A secondary goal was to evaluate the use of a commercially-available side-scanning sonar unit (Humminbird model 797c2) to identify and map these scars. Initially, three transects across Cockroach entry passes were studied; later, four additional transects were added. The effort was successful, demonstrating the feasibility of the mapping approach and identifying software tools to aid in the analysis of sonar images.