Eelgrass at Penikese Island

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Eelgrass meadows remove carbon dioxide while improving water quality

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Eelgrass meadows can be a natural carbon sink, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in sediments, even more than rain forests, while improving water quality and reducing coastal shoreline erosion. This is called "Blue Carbon".

Eelgrass is an extraordinary ecosystem

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Eelgrass is an extraordinary ecosystem. It grows in meadows that create important habitats for marine life like scallops, fish, crabs and lobsters. Meadows also help tie down sediments and filter nutrients from water.

Eel grass meadows are fragile and can take years to recover from damage caused by anchors (and chain moorings).

Fish take residence in a newly planted eelgrass patch

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July 30, 2012. A newly planted eelgrass patch, as part of an ongoing project by Cornell Cooperative Extension's Eelgrass Restoration Program, with local fish instantly taking residence.

Juvenile and adult scup (porgy) and black seabass among other species take refuge in the marine habitat and forage for food. Eelgrass planting units were assembled by campers at Peconic Dunes through our Marine Meadows volunteer program and were then planted by CCE divers