A map of 100 seagrass beds located by citizen scientists around the Irish coast has been published by Minister of State for Fisheries and Environment Timmy Dooley. The initiative in Co.Clare was facilitated by Coastwatch and included a talk by Clare co-ordinators Jane Kelleher and Frances Galloway on what to look for in seagrass and how to measure it.
Pressures on seagrass were also discussed by Grace Watson and Coastwatch co-ordinator Karin Dubsky.
Seagrass meadows are among the most valuable habitats in our coastal waters, playing key roles in storing carbon, nurturing young fish and shellfish, stabilising sediment, and buffering shorelines against storms. Coastwatch has been calling for protection of seagrass by the Government, with “no more bottom dredging in protected sites with sensitive features so seagrass can do its carbon capture and biodiversity hot spot job”.
As Afloat has reported, recent research by Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) has found that seagrass meadows across Northern Ireland are under threat from severe pollution linked to agricultural run-off and sewage. The QUB researchers have recommended better management of agricultural runoff, investment in sewage treatment, and recognition that marine conservation cannot stop at the high tide mark.
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