The Growing Challenge of Planting Seagrass in the Firth of Forth

Publish Date: Wednesday August 21, 2024

Welcome to the latest news from Restoration Forth. The project aims to restore seagrass meadows and native oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust are a community hub for this project. If you’ve been getting involved, thank you for your time and enthusiasm!

Seagrass – the outcome of monitoring

Back in March, 128 volunteers helped Restoration Forth plant more seagrass seeds along the Firth of Forth. The team and volunteers have been keeping a close eye on their growth. A HUGE thank you to all the passionate and dedicated volunteers for your time!

Although the full picture hasn’t emerged yet, fewer shoots have emerged than was hoped, so the team is working to understand why.

Restoration projects can be challenging, and what has been learned through this process has been incredibly helpful.

The team has also been trialling the transplantation of dwarf eelgrass cores, by transplanting cores (seagrass with the sediment) from established meadows to adjacent bare sediment. With this method it’s hoped to extend the current seagrass area in the Firth of Forth.

This year 400 cores have been transplanted, and last year 480 cores were transplanted. This method seems to be working well, and Restoration Forth will be monitoring them more closely in the coming months.

Oysters

As we approach the end of summer it’s time to think about the project’s next oyster deployments. The team aims to release a further 10,000 oysters into the Firth of Forth in Autumn, so keep an eye out for opportunities to be involved in more biosecurity days soon.

Find out how you can get involved in some citizen science.