A single boat scar in a Florida Keys seagrass meadow would not be a problem. Seagrasses are clonal and can reproduce by sending out horizontal stems that allow them to fill in small disturbed areas. But cloning will not work alone in the Florida Keys because the boat scar problem is more severe. There are many boats that keep making an impact on the the same areas so that there are huge tracts with boat scars. This makes natural recovery by cloning almost impossible.

Government and park managers have worked to restrict areas where fishermen are allowed to boat. This protects some seagrass from boating impact.

Scientists also have used the bird stake method as a creative way to help provide the seagrass with added nutrients to make recovery more rapid in this otherwise nutrient-poor area. This method has been successful where there are relatively small areas that are impacted.