New project launched to kickstart seagrass recovery in Shetland

UHI Shetland’s marine science research department is launching a new project to aid the recovery of important seagrass habitats in Shetland. The ‘Restoring Shetland’s Marlie Meadows’ project aims to restore 1.2 hectares of subtidal seagrass beds in the west Mainland over the next three years.

Seagrass is the world’s only marine flowering plant. Its bottle-green leaves create amazing underwater meadows that are home to a wide variety of crabs, snails and juvenile fish. These seagrass beds, known locally as marlok or marlie, once flourished in shallow, sheltered areas on the west side of Shetland's mainland. However, seagrasses have been declining both globally and locally since the 1930s, and most of the seagrass beds in Shetland have now been lost.

This new project will trial transplanting plants from healthy meadows to sites where seagrass was historically abundant. This will hopefully help recovery and enhance the habitat's resilience across multiple sites. UHI Shetland aims to collaborate with local organisations, residents, and the wider community to increase the abundance of seagrass habitats, monitor existing beds, and raise awareness of this vital ecosystem.

UHI Shetland has been awarded funding from a partnership between the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) and SSEN Distribution. This funding is part of a new £2.4 million seagrass planting programme to help restore nature in Scotland’s seas. The programme aims to plant 14 hectares of seagrass over the next three years across Scotland, benefiting both nature and coastal communities.

This initiative builds on previous SMEEF-funded work by UHI Shetland, which used drone surveys and community efforts to help map the current extent of seagrass meadow and compare it to historic records.

Professor Jane Lewis, Principal and CEO of UHI Shetland, said:

“We are excited to launch this important project to revive seagrass habitats in Shetland. This initiative underscores our commitment to research that supports a sustainable future for Shetland’s marine environment.”

Dr. Rebecca Giesler, Project Manager, said:

"The ‘Restoring Shetland’s Marlie Meadows’ project represents a fantastic opportunity to trial innovative restoration methods and collaborate with partners and the local community to revive this vital habitat. Our research into historical records has emphasised how much seagrass we have lost from Shetland’s coast over the past century. We hope this project will be the first step towards reversing this decline.”