Keeping you up to date with Project Seagrass news and views with a mixture of field notes and commentary on seagrass and marine conservation topics.
Seagrass meadows provide a range of environmental, economic, and social benefits to people and planet. They provide habitat, food, and shelter to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and birds. Through their diverse use as fishing grounds, they support the creation of jobs and provide access to food sources
Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role of seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems, and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life. In
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Find out more about the project here. Orkney seagrass trip Next month the seagrass team will be departing for their annual seed collection trip in Orkney. Following
Using a novel genetic clock, a team of researchers from Kiel, London, Oldenburg, and Davis, California, has determined the age of a large marine plant clone for the first time. This seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the migration period 1,400 years ago. The newly developed clock
This Pride Month we’re celebrating our work with Pride Cymru. Thanks to support from Catalyst Cymru, Pride Cymru volunteers supported fieldwork to plant seagrass seeds as part of our programme of restoration work in North Wales. The planting took place earlier this year in Hafan y Môr, Pwllheli. An introduction
Between the 17th and 21st June 2024, over 500 scientists, conservation professionals, and managers will converge in Naples, Italy for the 15th International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW15). It will be two years since the last meeting in Annapolis, USA. The theme of ISBW15 is “Seagrasses in the Anthropocene”, centred around
The theme of the 2024 World Ocean Day is catalyzing action for our ocean and climate. This recognises the fact that the health of the marine environment, including our globally declining seagrass meadows, requires significantly stronger local, national, and international action from both government and corporate leaders. In this article
This year’s World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” Loss and degradation of coastal marine ecosystems, compromise the delivery of important ecosystem services to human society. Yet turning the tide on these losses and working towards a net gain
Read our Project Leads’ fieldwork notes from May: Solent Fieldwork (Anouska Mendzil, Solent Lead) Solent fieldwork update: Day 1 Myself and Manning arrived to the Isle of Wight around 14:00 and met Becky. We had an afternoon of preparation including labelling pins and mini-buoys, sorting kit, sorting data forms and
Thanks to the support of local volunteers and landowners Stena Line, 50,000 seagrass seeds were planted last month at sites near Holyhead, covering an area of 150 m2. The planting followed on from a successful stakeholder engagement session held at Holyhead Sailing Club in March 2024, which was attended by
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. The small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) is a small shark species growing up to 1 meter long and can be seen around European and North African coastlines. They
In an article for Halloween, Grace Cutler, one of Project Seagrass’ Interns for the 2025-26 academic year, explores the frightening reality of continued seagrass loss as a result of anthropogenic activity and how this in turn threatens seagrass’ role in supporting people and planet. Werewolves are struck down by silver
In a new blog series, our Conservation Trainee Abi David explores some of the amazing creatures that call seagrass meadows their home. The snakelocks anemone is a funny looking creature commonly found around the UK. They have up to 200 long, wavy tentacles and can grow on average to about
The Ocean is in crisis. Coral reefs are bleaching, seagrass meadows are vanishing, mangroves are being cleared, and biodiversity is plummeting. Scientists estimate we’ve already lost up to 50% of global saltmarshes, 35% of mangroves, and 20% of seagrasses. Yet alongside this sobering decline, momentum for marine restoration has never
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government circulated a draft version of Scotland’s first Blue Carbon Action Plan with key stakeholders to gather comments and feedback. Project Seagrass was one of the organisations contacted as part of this process. The Blue Carbon Action Plan sets out the Scottish Government’s position and
Posidonia seagrass meadows, veritable underwater forests, play a major ecological role. Under constant pressure from human activity, scientists are looking for ways to ensure their survival, in particular by carrying out restoration campaigns. A study conducted by the University of Liège at the marine and oceanographical research station STARESO (Calvi,
