Plymouth Sound & Estuaries
New boat mooring system paves way for significant seagrass rewilding
A pioneering project by the Marine Conservation Society and the Ocean Conservation Trust has recorded significant seagrass regrowth in Plymouth Sound, whilst continuing to allow safe boat mooring. Four years following the installation of a new ‘Advanced Mooring System’, the Marine Conservation Society and partners at the Ocean Conservation Trust report a 212% increase in…
Read MoreSouth West England innovators collaborate to develop enhanced solutions for seagrass monitoring
A new, non-invasive method to measure and monitor seagrass biomass on the seabed around England’s South West coast is being developed as part of an ongoing, collaborative project. The innovative new technique is currently being trialled by local companies HydroSurv and Valeport, working with the University of Plymouth and Natural England, and supported by a…
Read MoreEngland’s largest ever seagrass planting hits new milestone
£2.5m project led by Natural England has now planted seagrass across a total of 3.5 hectares of seabed. Seagrass can be as effective at storing carbon as our woodlands but UK has lost around half of its seagrass since the mid-1930s. Project partners to share expertise with marine conservation projects taking place around Europe to…
Read More10,000 bags of seagrass seeds to be planted at Plymouth Sound
Volunteers are busy packing 10,000 bags of seagrass seeds for planting underwater in Plymouth Sound. Research shows at least 44 per cent of the UK’s seagrass has been lost since 19361. This restoration work is part of England’s largest seagrass planting effort under the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES partnership, led by Natural England. The partnership’s restoration…
Read MorePlymouth’s underwater success story for COP26
Planting grass on the seabed in Plymouth is one of the UK’s green success stories being shared at COP26 in Glasgow. The ambition to take seagrass seeds from healthy underwater meadows, cultivate them in the laboratory and then plant a total of eight hectares sounds like science fiction. But already one hectare – the equivalent…
Read MoreEngland’s largest seagrass planting programme underway
Today (21 April 2021), work on England’s largest seagrass planting effort is taking place in Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. It is estimated that the UK may have lost up to 92 per cent of its seagrass1. Factors including wasting disease, pollution and physical disturbance have been identified as contributing causes. Seagrass meadows provide homes…
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