
Seagrass
Seagrasses form beautiful underwater meadows that are havens for marine wildlife, and nursery areas for commercially important species.
Seagrasses form beautiful underwater meadows that are havens for marine wildlife, and nursery areas for commercially important species.
Seagrass beds include beds of the two eelgrass species; common eelgrass (Zostera marina) and dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltei), as well as tasselweed (Ruppia maritima) beds
Seagrass beds are a Priority Marine Feature in Scotland’s seas. Seagrass beds provide shelter for all sorts of other life, increasing biodiversity, so it’s critically important that we protect them.
Seagrass beds provide:
Eelgrass beds grow in shallow coastal areas on sheltered sandy or muddy seabeds, or with maerl, from areas exposed at low tides to depths of about 10m. They often inhabit places with a gentle tidal current. Tasselweed beds tend to grow in brackish lagoons and lochans where freshwater dilutes the seawater.
Information on where seagrass beds are found is at Scotland’s National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPi).
Seagrasses grow best in undisturbed, clean water. It’s important to protect seagrass beds from:
More information on the sensitivities of seagrass can be found at Scotland’s Feature Activity Sensitivity Tool (FEAST). In the 1930s a significant proportion of the eelgrasses around Britain died from a wasting disease.
Seagrass beds are a Priority Marine Feature, a UK BAP habitat and an OSPAR threatened and declining habitat.
Seagrass beds are protected in 26 locations around Scotland by a suite of Marine Protected Areas shown in the map below:
More information on the sites and how they are managed can be found at NatureScot’s Sitelink and on the Marine Scotland web pages for some sites. For a number of sites detailed survey and monitoring reports also exist.
Many different fish and small invertebrates live amongst seagrass beds, sheltering between the swaying leaves of the plants. They make an ideal home on Sound of Barra.
Read the full NatureScot Research Report 1286 - Seagrass restoration in Scotland - handbook and guidance
Read our latest news release - Scotland's first seagrass restoration guide