"If We Don't Have Seagrass, We Don't Have a Bay:" The State of Florida's Largest Estuary

Written by: Austin King

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Time to read 8 min

Here in South Carolina, our marine world revolves around one thing: Oysters. Oysters provide habitat for up to 130 species, can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, serve as a food source for dozens of predators in the Lowcountry, aid in erosion control, the list goes on. Oysters are our all-stars; they are the lifeblood of the Lowcountry. Being such an integral part of our ecosystem makes oysters a “keystone species:” a plant or animal that produces a major impact on its ecosystem and is considered essential to maintaining optimum ecosystem function or structure.


500 miles away, across the state of Florida, lives another keystone species that is just as important to its ecosystem as oysters are to ours. Over the last century, we’ve seen its population undergo dramatic changes due to habitat degradation, dirty water influx, and pollution. The keystone species in question is seagrass, specifically the seagrass in Flordia’s Tampa Bay. Thankfully, organizations like Tampa Bay Waterkeeper have dedicated their life to protecting and restoring seagrass populations in Florida’s largest open-water estuary; here’s how Toadfish is getting involved and how you can support our collective efforts.

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Seagrass: What Does It Do? Why Is It Important?

an arial view shows the bountiful seagrass meadows that exist within tampa bay

It's undeniable that seagrass is an ecological superstar. Serving as the foundation for the entire Tampa Bay ecosystem, seagrass provides essential habitat for countless species in the bay, filters water by trapping particulate matter floating through the water, oxygenates both the water and air, serves as a food source for marine species such as turtles, manatees, and some fishes, and much more. So what’s going on? If it is so important, why and how is it at risk?

Historic Seagrass Struggles: Understanding How Tampa Bay Came To Be

The story of seagrass struggles starts nearly a century ago, back in the 1950s. It was, truly, the invention of air conditioning that allowed people to mass-populate South Florida and, consequently, led to the uprooting and destruction of millennia-old natural habitat. This urbanization quickly spiraled into routine sewage water dumps that led to massive algal blooms, preventing sunlight penetration to the seafloor and restricting seagrass’ ability to photosynthesize. By the mid-1980s, Tampa Bay’s seagrass population was half of what it was 20 years prior, and the prognosis for the bay was not good; something needed to be done

An infographic depics how seagrass populations have changed over the last 80 years
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-changes-tampa-bay

In the coming years, city-wide uproars that cited rotting algal aromas and brown, dirty water resulted in new state legislation, setting precedents for wastewater management in the Bay Area. Years later, because of these laws, the amount of nitrogen (a steroid for algae growth) that flowed into the bay had been cut by 90%, and seagrass began its comeback. Organizations like the Tampa Bay Estuary Foundation, established in 1991, and, nowadays, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper continue to steward Tampa Bay and its superhero keystone species, seagrass.

Tampa Bay Waterkeeper's Captain Dustin Pack: Angler, Conservationist, Floridian

Capt. Dustin Pack holds large redfish on skiff while wearing Tampa Bay Waterkeeper hat

In early July, Toadfish had the privilege of traveling down to Tampa, FL, and spending a day with Capt. Dustin Pack, a Fly Fishing Guide in the Bay and member of the Board of Directors for Tampa Bay Waterkeeper. Capt. Dustin has lived in the Bay Area his whole life and has seen the tremendous progress that Tampa Bay has made over the last 40 years. The bay, however, is still under attack today, and Capt. Dustin is on the front lines of the fight for the bay's health. He was kind enough to welcome us into his home waters and educate us on the numerous issues facing Tampa Bay today.

Learning About Tampa Bay with Captain Dustin Pack

We headed out of Davis Island Boat Ramp around daybreak to take a tour of the Bay and learn more about its past, present, and future. While we cruised around on his 18ft Hell's Bay Marquesa, Capt. Dustin gave us some insight into how Tampa Bay came to be. “Historically," Capt. Dustin shared, "Tampa Bay was actually a dead estuary. In 1950, Tampa Bay had almost 50,000 acres of seagrass, but over the 70s, 80s, and 90s, we had such bad water quality issues that we lost half of that.” Capt. Dustin explained that “the water was so bad that [on] people’s houses along Bayshore, their siding was turning yellow, and their silverware was staining yellow. Once those people became impacted, the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, which changed the trajectory of the bay.” Capt. Dustin emphasized how advocacy groups like the Tampa Bay Estuary Foundation (Tampa Bay Waterkeeper did not exist at the time) were integral in educating Bay Area residents on clean water and how they played a role in the bay’s health.

a black and white photo shows historic Bayshore drive in the mid 50s with smoke plumes in the background
https://tampamagazines.com/the-history-of-tampas-bayshore-boulevard/

Current Issues Facing Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay's health steadily improved through the mid-2010s, but today, the bay is once again facing significant challenges. We asked Capt. Dustin about some of the largest issues currently affecting the bay, and his answer was quick and potent. “Things like Piney Point,” he said, “3 years ago, in 2021, we had the largest fish kill we’ve had in 70 years.” Shocked, especially after learning about the progress made over the last 70 years, we inquired more. “The state of Florida is rich in Phosphate,” explained Capt. Dustin, “from dinosaurs and other animals that died millions of years ago, back when Florida was underwater. To excavate these fossil bones and convert them into things like fertilizer, mining companies use a high-pressure water system. This process creates a nutrient-rich wastewater byproduct called Phosphogypsum."

A pluff mud bank is shown with countless volunteers and MWRs laid out along the shoreline

"The state stores billions of gallons of phosphogypsum in “stacks” along Florida’s coastline - they haven't decided what to do with it yet.” Capt. Dustin continued to share that Piney Point housed a long-standing, semi-abandoned phosphogypsum stack, containing an Olympic swimming pool's worth of nutrient-rich wastewater. In 2006, HRK Holdings purchased the Piney Point site to store dredge material and sediment. After years of inadequate maintenance, the liner at the bottom of this ~500 million-gallon stack began to leak, and the wall began to show signs of collapse. To relieve pressure from the liner, with the approval of the state, roughly 215 million gallons of nutrient-rich, toxic wastewater were discharged into the Bay. This was the catalyst for one of the worst ecological catastrophes in Tampa Bay's recent history.

Nutrient Rich? That's a Good Thing... Right?

Capt. Dustin explained that the water discharged from the phosphogypsum stack was rich in nitrogen, a steroid for algae growth. Capt. Dustin shared with us that algae in the bay are natural, but unusually high levels of nitrogen in the bay supercharge algal growth, leading to immense, uncontrollable algae blooms. The nitrogen surge from the Piney Point discharge led to some of the worst algal blooms, like “red tide,” the bay has ever seen. These blooms caused oxygen-poor water and created dense algae mats on the water’s surface, killing marine life and preventing sunlight from reaching seagrass on the bay’s floor.

a drone captures just how prolific red tide was in Tampa bay after the Piney Point discharge

The Piney Point Crisis: The Ugly Aftermath

“[The Piney Point crisis] was in March/April of 2021,” said Capt. Dustin, “and I started seeing dead fish in June of 2021. And then, for the next 2-3 months after that, we had the largest fish kill we’ve had in 70 years. The state and city picked up around 1700 tons of dead marine life: snook, cobia, redfish, baitfish, catfish, manatees, dolphins - everything you could think of that lives inside the bay we found dead. It was a disaster. I thought everything was dead. I thought I was out of a job. I didn’t think, honestly, that Tampa Bay was going to bounce back from it.” 

A large, dead snook is seen lying among other dead fishes and detached seagrass after the 2021 Piney Point Crisis.
A large, dead snook is seen lying among other dead fish and detached seagrass after the 2021 Piney Point Crisis.

The Bottom Line: Clean Water Isn't Up for Debate

Miraculously, Capt. Dustin shared that the bay recovered quicker than anyone anticipated; Mother Nature continues to defy the exceptionally bleak odds that we give her. At some point, however, she will reach her breaking point. If we, as humans, continue our reckless, negligent path of destruction, Mother Earth's surrender will become inevitable; we will have left her no choice but to concede.

A photo depicts dead baitfish, seagrass, and a massive dead tarpon after the Piney Point Crisis in 2021.
A photo depicts dead baitfish, seagrass, and a massive dead tarpon after the Piney Point Crisis in 2021.

Here’s my bottom-line takeaway from the time we spent with Capt. Dustin Pack; and it's not rocket science: water is the basis for all life in the bay, so clean water is not a maybe, it's a must. We can restore oyster habitat, replant mangroves, and revise size and catch limits, but none of those changes address the non-negotiable root of the problem: we must have clean water. When water quality is poor, "cosmetic" initiatives like those stated above have little to no impact; they are bandaids on a deep, osteal infection. Clean water is the key. Strengthening regulations around wastewater management is the key. Advocacy and education are the key. The water in Tampa Bay both gives and takes away life - it is our responsibility to care about it, to protect and nourish it. As Capt. Dustin said,  “Fortunately, mother nature is resilient, but mother nature is only resilient if we keep our foot off her throat.”

A Hopeful Future for Tampa Bay that Starts with You and Me

A man is squatting down building an MWR in cold weather. He is using a power tool to attach two sheets of wire mesh framework.

“So the bay is not dead anymore,” says Capt. Dustin, “it's hopeful. The end goal is to purify this waterway like it was 100, 120 years ago, and that can happen. We have to keep educating, keep everybody informed with the water quality testing that we have, [continue] the youth education that we do; everything revolves around this bay and education, and once people hear about it, the more people know about it; the more people know how to help, the better it can be.”

A Joint Effort for a Brighter Future

Following our trip with Capt. Dustin Pack, Toadfish, in partnership with our sister companies Tsunami Tackle and Bimini Bay Outfitters, was ecstatic to present a check of $10,000 to Tampa Bay Waterkeeper to support their ongoing efforts that ensure cleaner water and a brighter future for Tampa Bay. It was incredibly valuable to spend a day on the water with Capt. Dustin learning more about the state of Florida's largest estuary. We greatly appreciate his passion for conservation, stewardship, and the waters he calls home.


Toadfish has teamed up with Tampa Bay Waterkeeper to create TBW-themed Can Coolers that you can pick up today. 100% of proceeds from these Can Coolers will go to Tampa Bay Waterkeeper as they continue their fight for the future of Tampa Bay.




Written By Austin King