UK’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project Concludes

The United Kingdom’s most extensive seagrass restoration initiative has concluded following a five-year operational period, with certain locations exhibiting indications of “recovery”. This £2.5m undertaking, financed by the EU LIFE programme and spearheaded by Natural England in collaboration with the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT), Marine Conservation Society, The Royal Yachting Association, and Plymouth City Council/Tamar Estuaries, sought to counteract a decline spanning several decades during which seagrass had been disrupted and eradicated. Seagrass possesses the ability to absorb carbon dioxide at a quicker rate than trees, thereby serving as an inherent safeguard against climate change. The initiative encompassed five locations along the South coast, successfully restoring a total of eight hectares (20 acres) of seagrass within the Plymouth Sound and Solent Maritime conservation zones. For Falmouth and the Isles of Scilly, the OCT stated that efforts concentrated on educational outreach to mitigate harm resulting from boat anchoring and mooring activities in vulnerable habitats. Mark Parry, who serves as the head of habitat restoration at OCT, commented that seagrass functions “like a filter to remove organic carbon from the water”. He further explained: “They bury that within the sediments and they bury it for very long periods of time.” He added: “Within the five special areas of conservation there does seem to be some reversal within the health of that system. So they were considered to be in unfavourable condition and it’s early days, but two of the sites seemed to be moving into a recovery phase.” A portion of the seagrass planted in Plymouth Sound was cultivated in a specialized laboratory located at the National Marine Aquarium within the city. Mim Daughtery, the seagrass aquaculture lead at the aquarium, remarked that “so much about seagrass we’re still learning”. She elaborated: “We work with zostera marina, that species here can be completely different to the species that we have in Germany.” She continued: “We’re still trying to bridge that gap in knowledge on how are we going to restore these and how to make them more resilient.” The OCT indicated its intention to persist in monitoring the restoration at these locations for an extended duration. For updates, follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Story ideas can be submitted to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.