An estimated 82,937 acres of underwater grasses were distributed throughout Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries in 2023, marking a 7 percent increase from the previous year, according to a release from the Chesapeake Bay Program.Experts believe that it is likely that more underwater grasses, also known as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), grew in the Chesapeake in 2023 than the mapped acreage suggests. The SAV Restoration and Monitoring Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science directly mapped 79,234 acres of underwater grasses using aerial and satellite imagery, while an additional 3,703 acres were estimated to occur in areas along a portion of the Potomac River that was unmapped due to security restrictions.
This marks a 45 percent attainment of the ultimate goal of achieving and sustaining the 185,000 acres of underwater grasses needed for a restored Bay, and a 61 percent achievement of the target to restore 130,000 acres by 2025. These are positive gains, but they ...