MANCHESTER — Traditional boat moorings have often come with a negative side effect, damaging valuable eelgrass, a key part of sea life's habitat.
Now, however, thanks to a program funded through the Massachusetts Port Authority, many traditional moorings — used to secure boats in a harbor or elsewhere — are being replaced by environmentally friendly ones, meaning the moorings and eelgrass can exist in harmony.
Boat moorings in Manchester are owned by the people who use them, town Harbormaster Bion Pike said, so when the Massport project was announced, his department pitched the idea to mooring owners.
"Virtually everyone took the town up on the offer," he said.
Compared to traditional moorings that typically scrape the ocean floor and damage eelgrass, Pike explained that the new moorings, provided by BoatMoorings.com, float and don't damage the ocean's bottom at all.