Why we need meadows in the sea

Seagrass is a beautiful and essential underwater habitat in the UK. It acts as a carbon sink, soaking up the carbon in our atmosphere,  improves our water quality and is a diverse ecosystem supporting the biodiversity of our seas. The dense and beautiful leaves of a seagrass meadow provide shelter and act as a nursery habitat for many species, including our precious UK seahorses. 

Vibrant and leafy seagrass meadows once flourished around the UK but many have been destroyed. Seagrass meadows in the UK have declined dramatically due to lots of different pressures, from unpredictable storms and rising sea temperatures to damage from recreational boat moorings.

Protecting and restoring seagrass meadows is important for returning the biodiversity to our seas, capturing carbon from the atmosphere. Communities and scientists are working hard to restore them.

Wales was the first country in the world to have a national action plan to restore seagrass, with a goal of 250 hectares restored by 2030.

Much of the hard work is happening right here in Anglesey as a part of a major North Wales project aiming to plant 10 hectares of underwater meadows by the end of 2026.

Following lots of successful trials, thousands of seagrass seeds have been planted in Holyhead Bay and other Anglesey locations to create much needed nurseries for native fish and invertebrates.

A single hectare of seagrass can support up to 80,000 fish and 100 million invertebrates and it helps to stabilise the coast, making it a powerful natural solution to tackle the impacts of climate change.