Eelgrass makes dredging an expensive and time-consuming process festooned with red tape, permits and consultant fees, Sites said.
“It causes people a lot of grief in my business,” he said.
The flowering underwater plant is protected by federal and state agencies because it is a haven for young fish and invertebrates. Many species of endangered birds scout for food in clumps of the plant, which scientists classify as an angiosperm and not a grass.
City officials will ask federal regulators to ease up on rules governing eelgrass later this month, which local boat owners complain clogs their boat slips.
“The experts are trying to look at whether this policy is beneficial to eelgrass,” said Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff. “The policy has resulted in fewer people dredging and that sediment development is starting to pile up — making less and less of the bay a good habitat for eelgrass.”
When boat owners can’t afford or don’t want to spend the money to dredge their slips, their boat docks begin to break up as sediment clogs the area and the docks sit on the lip of the beach.
Many boats in Newport Harbor run aground during low tide because of the problem, Sites said.
City officials will meet with representatives later this month from the National Marine Fisheries Service, one of the numerous federal and state agencies that oversee protection of the plant.
A number of city-hired experts claim eelgrass grows back quickly when removed and not allowing boat slip owners to dredge without taking expensive steps to cultivate more plants actually harms eelgrass, Kiff said.
