Latest news with #seagrass
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘It's spectacular': volunteer Dorset divers see summer of surging seahorses
The divers emerged from the water smiling with satisfaction. They had found what they were looking for in the undersea meadows off the south coast of England. 'Seahorses are tricky to spot,' said Mark Fox. 'The seagrass sways and they blend into it pretty well. It helps if it's sunny and not too choppy but you have to get your eye in. When you see them, it's brilliant.' Fox is one of a band of volunteers (he is a semi-retired painter and decorator) helping survey the creatures that live in Studland Bay. Over the last two decades conservationists have worked hard to make conditions in the Dorset bay better for the seagrass – and thus the seahorses – including introducing almost 100 'eco moorings' that do not harm the habitat. Coming across a seahorse here used to be a rare event but this summer the divers have seen a surge in numbers, with 33 seahorses counted in one survey. 'It's spectacular to see so many seahorses here,' said Ken Collins, an emeritus fellow at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton. Collins has worked on globally important projects such as helping protect the water around the Galápagos Islands but is now a key member of the volunteer team monitoring the seahorses for the charity the Seahorse Trust. Studland Bay is a key spot in the UK for two species, the spiny seahorse and the short-snouted seahorse. The trust launched the Studland Seahorse Project in 2008 to try to boost help boost numbers and in 2019 the bay was designated a marine conservation zone. But a problem for the seagrass and seahorses is that the bay is also a fine area for boats to shelter in. 'And anchors tear out the roots of seagrass,' said Collins. 'It takes years to grow back.' Collins said there had been tension over the years with 'anti-conservationists', some with 'Trump-like views', who seemed to think the champions of the seahorses were intent on driving the boaters away. Relations have improved since the Studland Bay Marine Partnership was created in 2021, consisting of the Seahorse Trust, academics, boating organisations, community groups and local businesses. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Funds were provided from the UK government and a Hampshire company that runs marinas, Boatfolk, to help set up 87 eco moorings, which are attached to the Studland Bay seabed without scouring it. Bare patches in the seagrass are starting to grow back. 'It's a long process but we're getting there,' said Collins. This week the survey team set up camp on a picnic bench at Joe's Cafe on South Beach before their dive. Volunteers, including a builder, a student and a usually desk-bound marine habitat project manager, hauled on wetsuits and scuba gear. Collins, not as young as he was, was not too proud to ask one of the younger divers to help zip him into his wetsuit. Jenny Mallinson, who used to run the aquarium at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, briefed the divers: when you spot a seahorse, don't take your eye off it or you will lose it; take a picture of the whole body so that the team can later try to identify if it is male or female; most importantly, don't distress the seahorses – if their colour darkens or they turn away, it's a sign that they are not happy and you should move away. Over the next three and half hours, three pairs of divers combed the seagrass, which lies about 100 metres out and 2 metres down and reported back to Mallinson. The total wasn't as dramatic as earlier this month but they saw seven, all spiny seahorses. Neil Garrick-Maidment, the executive director and founder of the Seahorse Trust, said they used to be pleased to spot one or two seahorses and often found none. 'Seven is brilliant. It is fantastic to start seeing seahorses back in Studland Bay. It has been an incredible team effort.'
SBS Australia
21-07-2025
- Science
- SBS Australia
Tidal Moon leveraging traditional knowledge to bring banc Australia's first ever export the sea cucumber
Tidal Moon draws on traditional knowledge to harvest sea cucumbers one by one, the marine animal will soon be dried and processed at a brand-new export facility in the West Australian town of then they're sent to a Singaporean partner for export across South East Asia Gathaagudu is home to the planet's largest reserve of seagrass both a food source for marine life and a carbon storage powerhouse. Tidal Moon is leading one of the world's largest seagrass restoration projects. While scouring the seafloor for sea cucumbers, the divers also replant seagrass reserves. "One of the key things that we're trying to do is keep the carbon captured in the sea floor. So without seagrass restoration, you have these carbon bombs that go off and there's about 40 million tons of CO2 that are at risk in Shark Bay" Jennifer Verduin, a marine scientist at Perth's Murdoch University, agrees that the relationship might be 'mutually beneficial,' saying sea cucumbers are 'the worms of the ocean.'
Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Video of seagrass devastation cut from Attenborough documentary
Filmmakers cut footage of fishing boats destroying seagrass meadows from Sir David Attenborough's Ocean film because it was deemed too shocking. Previously unseen video was shown to a small number of people at the recent UN ocean summit in Nice, revealing seagrass in the Turkish Mediterranean being affected by bottom trawling. The video shows huge plumes of sediment being thrown up as a weighted net smashes through the grass, a vital habitat for spawning fish. The Turkish conservationist and filmmaker Zafer Kizilkaya, who worked with the Ocean team, said he wanted to include the scenes in the film but they decided it was too disturbing. 'That footage I showed, that was the one that we decided to take out of the documentary. You know, it was a bit too harsh for the public,' Kizilkaya told The Times. 'I've been going out with trawlers for so long. But seeing that damage … before your eyes is a totally different thing. This is killing an entire deep-sea ecosystem.' Attenborough's film is thought to have played a key role in the government's decision last month to ban bottom trawling in around half the territory of marine protected areas (MPAs) in England. Celebrities including Stephen Fry and the White Lotus actor Theo James have called for a full ban on the destructive fishing practice in MPAs. Ocean, which was released in cinemas and on Disney+ in June, includes underwater footage of bottom trawling in the Mediterranean and in UK waters. However, the scene of seagrass being ploughed was cut. The footage was filmed in Turkish waters at an undisclosed location. The team did not know the seagrass was there until they retrieved the footage, as it was 27 metres underwater. Kizilkaya said the Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) would take a long time to recover because it grew slowly, at about 2cm a year. The damage to the habitat is bad news for fish, which use it as a nursery for their young, and for tackling climate change. 'Scientific papers have proven that it's the plant on the planet having the highest capacity of carbon storage, which is about eight kilograms per square meter, ten times higher than rainforests,' Kizilkaya said. Sophie Benbow, marine director at conservation group Fauna & Flora, who saw the footage in Nice, said: 'It's a lose-lose-lose for wildlife, the climate and for all of us who rely on a healthy ocean for our survival.' Kizilkaya said the public could play a key role in stopping bottom trawling by asking fishmongers and restaurants about where they sourced their fish and seafood. 'In a month, we can stop the whole bottom trawling industry. It's all about the end consumer,' he said. The UK government is consulting on the ban on bottom trawling in 41 of the country's 377 MPAs, but is facing a fierce pushback from fishing trade bodies. 'This ban will cause huge hardship to fishermen and their families and it will advance the cause of marine conservation no more than a far more targeted restriction would do,' the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations claimed in a blogpost. 'This is an astonishing attack on fishermen and coastal communities.' Seagrass species can be found in UK waters and several conservation efforts are under way to restore meadows.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
MOTE Marine Laboratory heads up seagrass initiative as other scientists call for water quality improvements
The Brief MOTE Marine Laboratory heads seagrass restoration technology development initiative. Funding comes from the Florida legislature after seagrass has declined across the state. Other scientists say more is needed, including storm and wastewater improvements. SARASOTA, Fla. - Seagrass plays a vital part in not only protecting Florida shorelines from erosion, but it also helps the underwater ecosystem thrive. In recent years, there has been a loss of seagrass across the state. The backstory Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota is trying to figure out how to stop this from happening. Seagrass is a breeding ground and protector for game fish. It's also a source of food for manatees and can help improve water quality. In areas across the state of Florida, seagrasses are disappearing. OTHER NEWS: Shark bite survivor's family, TGH doctors discuss 9-year-old's recovery: 'She's done a fantastic job' "We've seen stressors all across the state of Florida impacting our seagrass beds, which are so vital for our water quality, nursery grounds," said Kevin Claridge. Kevin Claridge is Mote Marine Laboratory's Vice President of Sponsored Research and Coastal Policy Program. He said Mote Marine Laboratory is working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Florida in creating a 10-year Florida seagrass restoration plan. Big picture view "Specifically, the funding is looking at what those stressors are on those seagrass systems. Say it's nutrient change or acidification or less light or nutrient impacts," said Claridge. The Florida Legislature has approved $2 million dollars in funding to be awarded every year for 5 years for the Seagrass Restoration Technology Development Initiative. The hope is to find the most tolerant seagrasses that Mote Marine Laboratory and partners can grow for future restoration projects. "It's the first time ever really on an international scale. We are working with partners all over the world and what they are doing in planting technologies to understand that genetic makeup better, to help us understand which ones are growing faster," said Claridge. Sarasota Bay has seen big gains. In 2024, they witnessed a 19% increase in seagrass coverage. Dr. David Tomasko, the Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, said it happened after local governments worked on removing nutrients from the water. "None of that 2,000 acres came about by transplanting. It came about because the water quality improved because we spent $300 million improving water quality," he said. Tomako said while the science of growing seagrass is vital, additional funds allocated to wastewater upgrades and storm water retrofits should be considered. "We want both these things to happen. We want the science to move forward, but we also don't want elected officials in Tallahassee or Washington D.C. to take their eye off the ball, which is we can recover eco-system scale, but it will cost more than 10-20 million dollars," he said. He said without change, sea grass will continue to pay the price as Florida grows. "If you're not willing to, at the same time, devote enough resources for these big projects. Wastewater upgrades, storm water retrofits it doesn't understand how well you understand the seagrasses. They won't grow if the water quality is not good," said Tomasko. What's next Mote Marine Laboratory has completed a green house which will help them experiment on real world stressors to sea grass. They hope to identify seagrass types which are most resilient to outside changes. Scientists are also looking at genetic and genomic approaches to generate genetically resilient seagrass which could be natural reproduced in land-based nurseries. The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon from Mote Marine Laboratory and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. The Source FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon gathered the information for this story. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
Reuters
20-06-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Croatia's scientists seek to ward off threat to Posidonia seagrass
DUGI OTOK, Croatia, June 20 (Reuters) - At Croatia's Dugi Otok island in the Adriatic Sea, scientists, demanding action to protect environmentally important meadows of seagrass, have been on a diving mission to assess the damage inflicted by human activity. Named after Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea, Posidonia oceanica, commonly known as Mediterranean tapeweed, provides food and shelter for fish, protects coasts from erosion, purifies sea water and can play a vital role in helping to tackle global warming. A meadow of Posidonia can annually soak up to 15 times more carbon dioxide than a similar sized piece of the Amazon rainforest, scientific research has found. But the scientists say much more needs to be done to protect it from tourist anchoring and from trawlers dragging fishing nets in the waters of the Adriatic Sea off Dugi Otok and the surrounding Kornati archipelago national park. They have urged tougher regulations and fines for anyone breaching them. Dominik Mihaljevic, a biologist at the national park, said the park had begun to install anchorages that would not harm the seagrass. "Our ultimate goal is to completely prohibit anchoring at the 19 anchorage locations that are currently in use," he said. Matea Spika, a senior associate at Croatia's Sunce environmental protection association, told Reuters Mediterranean Posidonia, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, had declined by 30% in the last 30-to-40 years. Apart from the issue of anchors and fishing nets, she said chemicals, excess nutrients from farms and cities, warmer waters due to climate change, and invasive species had caused further damage. New ports and artificial beaches have also blocked sunlight essential for Posidonia's growth.
