Solent Seagrass Update – A Year in Review
Seagrass Restoration Efforts to restore seagrass marine habitat at our two restoration sites on the Isle of Wight began in March and April this year under the Solent Seascape Project. A total of 132,000 seeds and 2,160 transplants have been planted across the two sites. There are plans to continue this planting in spring 2025 using the same methods. Continued monitoring of the restoration sites and WWF seagrass planting trials are undertaken during fieldwork on a monthly basis. Summer Seagrass Seed Harvest During July, we collected seagrass seeds (Zostera marina) from three meadows around the Isle of Wight. We were joined by 117 volunteers and some of our funders and project partners as part of our seagrass seed harvesting wade and pick event. We collectively harvested 101, 710 seeds in total, which will contribute towards 2025’s restoration efforts. Seagrass Safe Sailor We’ve been working with the boating community on the island to explore Advanced Mooring Systems (AMS), and promote seagrass safe sailing practices. Two AMS have been designed and are in the final stages of being installed at Seaview. These AMS provide a demonstration of how AMS can work safelyin a challenging tidal environment with moving sediment and currents, whilst reducing scarring on the extensive seagrass meadow here. In 2025, we’ll be monitoring seagrass recovery at Seaview, and working with local stakeholders to map the seagrass meadow. You can explore our Seagrass Safe Sailor resources here. Fragment Walks This year we, and many volunteers have also been restoring seagrass through fragments (washed up seagrass). We have: Set up two fragment collection points at St Helen’s and Arc Biodiversity in Sandown Run eight fragment collection walks Planted 329 plants over 17m² Run two school-focused fragment collection walks Worked with over 200 volunteers. To find out more about our Fragment Walk initiative visit our blog article. Looking Back and Moving Forward: A Big Thank You to Our Volunteers! This year has been incredibly busy, and we couldn’t have succeeded without our amazing volunteers. Your dedication has been invaluable. As we plan for an exciting 2025, we’re eager to welcome familiar faces back and meet new ones. Let’s make next year even better together! Thank you for being a vital part of the seagrass community.
Dale Seagrass Update
Following scientific trials in 2019, in 2020 many seagrass seeds were planted in Dale, supported by the community, school children and local organisations. Since planting, the seagrass area has been reseeded several times to infill gaps and support it as it develops. Despite some setbacks, the restoration area is now doing well, with a great increase in growth this year seen in recent monitoring. The natural patch of seagrass closer to the shore (Frenchman’s Bay area) is also doing well, likely due to seagrass seeds being transported to this area from the restoration area, and natural growth. Scuba divers went out in autumn 2024 and covered 3,000 m² of the restoration area, surveying in ten distinct lines. The results show that the average number of shoots within each seagrass clump has greatly increased since 2023. This means that the clumps of seagrass are larger, with the potential to patch together with more growth to form a meadow. The seagrass in the restoration is looking healthy and growing well! The average number of shoots across the whole restoration area has also increased since 2023, and recovered since a trawling and storm incidentthat impacted the seagrass from 2021 to 2022. Leaf length of the seagrass has remained stable from 2023 to 2024, suggesting that the seagrass is reaching it’s maximum length for the environmental conditions. We’ve also been co-delivering many seagrass related activities with local businesses – including seagrass paddleboard and snorkel safaris, art activities, seine netting, community meetings and more. We have our first Sensitive Ecosystem Responsible Fisher (SERF) and are trialling seagrass friendly lobster pots. We also continue to support the visitor moorings located outside of the restoration area – with donations encouraged for use. We couldn’t have achieved what has been without the ongoing support of Dale Seagrass Stakeholder Group, who continue to provide oversight to the project.