"This workshop was convened in response to the recognition that extremely valuable economic, wildlife and aesthetic resources have been lost during the last several decades as a direct result of seagrass declines throughout our Nation's coastlines. The central role of seagrasses in maintaining the physical, chemical and biological integrity of many coastal ecosystems has been well documented (McRoy and Helfferich, 1977; Phillips and McRoy, 1980; Zieman, 1982; Phillips, 1984; Thayer et. al., 1984; Zieman and Zieman, 1989). Seagrass habitats provide nursery and feeding grounds for fish, shellfish and wildlife, including several endangered and numerous economically valuable species"--Background, paragraph 1.

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