Pumicestone Passage seagrasses choked with snotweed

Seagrass meadows are important fish habitats, however in Pumicestone Passage eutrophication (nutrient loading) due to sewage effluent , groundwater and runoff from surrounding catchments results in large blooms of brown algae such as this snotweed (Ectocarpus fasciculatus, Ectocarpus siliculosus) which blooms in the dry winter months once water clarity improves ,allowing light penetration to the bottom. These snotweed blooms choke and smother seagrasses, often resulting in seagrass death. This video was taken on 10 June 2019 near the Avon wreck.

Pumicestone Passage,water quality,Fish habitat,eutrophication,Ectocarpus fasciculatus,