Solent seagrass meadows replanting begins

By Stephen Emerson

3 March 2022

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A £2.5million conservation project, which will see seagrass meadows replanted along the Solent is now underway.

The four year project will see the seagrass meadows replanted in the natural harbour of the Solent, along the designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and along the East and west Sussex coast.

Led by the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES partnership, it is Englands largest ever seasgrass project.

Seagrass plays such an important role in storing carbon that the meadows are referred to as ‘blue carbon sinks.’

It is estimated that a remarkable 44% of UK seagrass meadows have disappeared in the last six decades, 2% of European seagrass are lost annually, according to UK government body Natural England.

The project is underway, first in Plymouth, where volunteers will bed 20,000 bags of seagrass seed. That seed was first collected in the Solent before being incubated in laboratories.

The underwater meadows promote biodiversity, are a natural habitat for fish, particularly fry and other wildlife, enhanced water quality, and are vital in terms of carbon storage.

Volunteers will pack 20,000 bags of seagrass seeds this month to help restore seagrass within the natural harbour.

The project is scheduled to run until October 2023 and aims to plant a total of eight hectares of seagrass meadows, four hectares in Plymouth Sound and four hectares in the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation.

In mid-March, planting will begin at the Solent restoration site west of the mouth of the Beaulieu River, adjacent to the North Solent National Nature Reserve shoreline.

Find out more by visiting www.saveourseabed.co.uk.

By Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset.

Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users.

He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.