Seagrass habitat in the Swan-Canning estuary appears to have reduced by almost one-third since the early 1980s, when total area estimated in the estuary was nearly 600 ha.
The dominant seagrass in the Swan-Canning estuary is Halophila ovalis (common name paddleweed). This seagrass species is fast growing and often ephemeral – both aspects that create challenges for understanding seagrass distribution and extent with any certainty.
Historically, efforts to map seagrass distribution in the Swan-Canning estuary have been at an estuary-wide scale using a variety of survey methods, making comparisons difficult. Studies to understand aspects of seagrass ecology have also been sporadic.
