Monitoring and surveying our existing seagrass meadows, identifying their extent and recording which ones are growing and flowering well.
“Hidden beneath the surface of the Solent are underwater gardens of seagrass. Seagrasses are the only marine flowering plants. They typically occur along shallow, sheltered marine coastlines and estuaries, from the Tropics to the Arctic Circle. They have roots, grass-like leaves and produce flowers and seeds. Under the right conditions, they can grow to form flourishing, green underwater meadows which provide food and shelter for an array of marine life.
The seagrass meadows in the Solent are of international importance. They support rich biodiversity, including amazing species such as sea anemones, stalked jellyfish, sea slugs, pipefish and seahorses. They act as nursery grounds for commercially important fish species such as cod and sea bass. Seabass spend up to seven years growing in the Solent. Cuttlefish visit the meadows to breed, attaching their black eggs, known as ‘sea grapes’, to the seagrass leaves. Seagrass also provides a major food source for brent geese, which make the 3000-mile journey from Siberia to the Solent every year.
Seagrasses are incredibly important allies in the fight against climate change. They absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the surrounding seawater and their long leaves slow the flow of water, encouraging settlement of carbon-rich sediment down into the seabed, where it is buried and locked away. They also improve our water quality and protect our shores from coastal erosion: slowing wave energy with their leaves and stabilising soft seabed sediments with their roots.
However, seagrass is disappearing. Globally, it is estimated that we lose an area of seagrass around the same size as two football pitches every hour. In UK it is estimated that we have lost up to 92% of seagrass over the past century. In the 1920s and ‘30s a significant proportion of seagrass in the UK died from a wasting disease. There has not been much recovery since those days. Now, modern day pressures, including physical disturbance – from dragging anchors and chain moorings – and human-induced threats such as pollution, and excess nutrients from sewage and intensive agricultural practices, are putting our seagrass meadows under significant pressure. Historically, seagrass is recorded to have been very large and abundant from Southampton up the River Hamble to Bursledon. However, when the Hamble was surveyed for seagrass in 2011 not a blade was found.
By protecting and restoring seagrass habitats, we hope to create a wilder space, supporting increased biodiversity and sustainable fisheries, promoting greater ecosystem services, cleaner water and a natural carbon solution to mitigate the effects of climate change.”