ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Threatened

YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 1998

CRITICAL HABITAT: 22,574 acres of Florida lagoons designated in 2000

RECOVERY PLAN: 2002

RANGE: Fragmented distribution along 125 miles of coastline in southeastern Florida from Sebastian Inlet to Biscayne Bay

THREATS: Agricultural and urban runoff, dredging, boating activity, trampling, and increased severity of hurricanes and storms driven by global warming

POPULATION TREND: Information on Johnson's seagrass is rare, though one study found that all of the seagrass species in the Florida region have declined by 16 percent since 1986. Johnson's seagrass is the least abundant seagrass within its range.

Photo by Lori Morris, NOAA