Eelgrass' steady decline in Chesapeake Bay putting blue crab harvests at risk: Here's why

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — There's an extraordinary shift happening in the Chesapeake Bay involving the swapping of two types of vital seagrasses which could reshape the largest estuary in the United States.

A new study by researchers at William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS goes beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay to research why the decades-long dominance of eelgrass is fading to the rise widgeon grass, causing a different outlook for the body of water's future.

But power struggle between two vascular flowering plants is nothing new and has been ongoing for more then 10 years.

"The Chesapeake Bay was historically dominated by eelgrass," said Chris Patrick, VIMS SAV Monitoring and Restoration Program associate professor and director. "And in recent year