Our Purpose

Over the last decade, the Indian River Lagoon has had catastrophic seagrass losses, due to nearly continuous algal blooms. Record mortality of Florida manatees, attributed to starvation due to a lack of seagrass, their primary food source, has clearly demonstrated the need to develop the capacity to restore Indian River Lagoon seagrasses.

The Harbor Branch seagrass nursery aims to provide donor material for restoration plots in the lagoon. We launched our Harbor Branch Seagrass Nursery with support from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation in 2015 & have sustained it with other grants.

Our work will be integrated with other efforts with four other Indian River Lagoon restoration centers, Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves, the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, & other agencies.