Development of water transparency criteria for Florida seagrasses

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is developing a new transparency standard for marine waters that will protect the seagrass species found throughout the state. The current transparency standard does not sufficiently protect seagrasses, and the new standard will help DEP identify waters in which transparency is too low for healthy seagrass beds. A workshop of experts was convened by DEP to determine what factors affect light in seagrass beds, and what transparency criteria have already been established for individual systems. This newsletter summarizes that workshop and discusses how DEP will use this knowledge to set transparency criteria for seagrasses in Florida.

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