THE BIGGEST seagrass restoration, education and innovation project in England will receive support from environmental sensor manufacturer, Valeport, for its final two years.

LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES marine conservation project, led by Natural England, focuses on five Special Areas of Conservation along England’s south coast.

The project seeks to protect and restore sensitive seabed habitats which are at risk 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.

Seagrass meadows are being increasingly recognised for their essential carbon capture abilities. It can be as effective at absorbing and storing carbon as woodlands and provides a vital nursery bed for juvenile fish and protected creatures like seahorses and stalked jellyfish, cleans surrounding seawater and helps stabilise the seabed which can help to reduce coastal erosion.

However, seagrass meadows are a globally threatened ecosystem, with estimates suggesting the planet loses an area of seagrass the same size as two football pitches every hour.  At least 44 per cent of the UK’s seagrass has been lost since 1936.  

The UK’s delicate and endangered seagrass meadows are vulnerable to various factors including wasting disease, pollution and physical disturbances such as the anchoring, mooring and launching of leisure boats, along with other shore- and water-based activities. 

As well as planting new seagrass meadows, ReMEDIES is working to protect existing meadows and is trialling advanced mooring systems that help reduce impacts from recreational boating on the seabed, producing best practice guidance for boaters, seagrass location maps and conducting seagrass monitoring.

Joining forces with the conservation project is a natural fit for Totnes-based Valport, which designs and manufacturers high quality hydrographic and oceanographic instruments.

Head of marketing Guy Frankland, said: “The precision marine instruments we make are used for many purposes, including environmental monitoring, and we’re proud to announce our sponsorship of such a crucial conservation project. 

“Alongside assisting ReMEDIES’ Save Our Seabed programme with funding, we are looking forward to getting involved in various activities as the partnership grows.”

ReMEDIES Project Manager, Fiona Crouch said: “We are delighted Valeport has recognised the valuable work the partnership is undertaking to restore and conserve our seabed through their sponsorship of the project. It’s going to be a busy two years, we still have much to do, so it’s great to have Valeport supporting our efforts, thank you.” 

Information and key learnings from ReMEDIES will be shared with other marine conservation projects to help benefit seabed habitats across the UK and Europe.

To view a short film about the #SaveOurSeabed project and Valeport visit www.vimeo.com/746576528/8930b5e6b5

For more information about Valeport’s support for seagrass conservation visit www.valeport.co.uk/about/seagrass-conservation