Sea rewilding

Sea rewilding (also known as marine rewilding) is an area of environmental conservation activity which focuses on rewilding, restoring ocean life and returning seas to a more natural state. Sea rewilding projects operate around the world, working to repopulate a wide range of organisms, including giant clams, sharks, skates, sea sturgeons, and many other species.^[2] Rewilding marine and coastal ecosystems offer potential ways to mitigate climate change and sequester carbon.^[3][4] Sea rewilding projects are currently less common than those focusing on rewilding land, and seas are under increasing stress from the blue economy – commercial activities which further stress the marine environment.^[5]

Sea otters (pictured) are a keystone species needed to control the population of sea urchins which makes their reintroduction to the Pacific coast of Canada a successful case of rewilding.^[1]

Seagrass

 

Seagrass at La Ciotat, France

Seagrass meadows store carbon dioxide. More than 90% of the United Kingdom's historic seagrass meadows have been lost.^[6][7] Restoring meadows could offset carbon emissions and provide habitat for numerous fish and shellfish species.^[8] Research into seagrass, which covers about one percent of the sea floor suggests that it may be delivering 15–18% of carbon storage in the ocean.^[9][10] Meadows have been declining since the 1930s and are being lost at an alarming rate.^[11] Due to their scarcity they have been designated a UK habitat of principal importance.^[12] In the United States, a project at Chesapeake Bay is considered a success.^[13]

Native oysters

 

Oyster beds

Oysters filter water, recycle nutrients and help to protect against coastal erosion.^[14] Oyster stocks have declined by 95 per cent in Europe due to over-harvesting, habitat loss, pollution and disease.^[15][14]

In Rhode Island, US, "wild oyster populations are at an all-time low", according to Eric Schneider, the principal marine biologist with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's Division of Marine Fisheries. He also states: "oysters provide a number of essential ecosystem services, from water filtration to fish habitat and shoreline protection. By having oyster reef habitat absent from these systems, those services can be significantly depressed."^[14]

It has been demonstrated that restoring historic oyster beds improves water quality.^[16]

Kelp forests

 

Kelp forest at the Taranga pinnacles of the Hen and Chicken Islands, New Zealand

Kelp forests are important habitats which have been lost over time in coastal waters.^[17][18] Kelp forests provide habitat for fish, protect coastlines from erosion and trap carbon dioxide from the ocean. They grow fast and absorb large amounts of carbon.^[19] Restoring kelp forests is a strategy to address climate change and enrich ocean livestock.^[20]

Marine protected areas

Marine protected areas are areas protected from certain activity. They are used to preserve and conserve areas where marine life has been disrupted or disturbed. Such disturbances could be overfishing, ocean pollution, and other similar disturbances.

In Chile, environmental groups such as Rewilding Chile are campaigning to create new protected areas.^[21]

Carbon capture

Rewilding the sea has been described as "the new way to capture carbon".^[22]

Organisations

• Seawilding, a Scottish charity work with communities^[10][23]
• NatureScot
• Rewilding Britain

See also

• Rewilding
• Salmon conservation
• Blue carbon
• Reef burials

Further reading

• Clover, Charles (9 June 2022). Rewilding the Sea. Penguin Books.

References

1. Gregr, Edward (7 July 2021). "Sea otters: how welcome should a recovering top predator be?". TheScienceBreaker. 07 (3). doi:10.25250/thescbr.brk563. ISSN 2571-9262. S2CID 237986623.
2. "A drop in the ocean: rewilding the seas". the Guardian. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
3. "Reports". Blue Marine Foundation. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
4. "COP 26: Ocean action is climate action and the time to act is now!". Seas at Risk. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
5. "Ocean protection and Marine Directive review: past present future. Interview with Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk". Seas at Risk. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
6. Green, Alix Evelyn (28 July 2020). Assessing the impact of environmental pressures on seagrass Blue Carbon stocks in the British Isles (Doctoral thesis). UCL (University College London).
7. "Advancing the conservation of seagrass through education influence research and action". Project Seagrass. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
8. Dickie, Mure (4 September 2021). "Coastal rewilding: restoring Scotland's seagrass meadows". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
9. "Assessment of Blue Carbon Resources in Scotland's Inshore Marine Protected Area Network". NatureScot. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
10. "The problem with blue carbon: can seagrass be replanted … by hand?". the Guardian. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
11. "Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People". UN Environment Programme. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
12. "LIFE 3.0 – LIFE Project Public Page". European Commission LIFE public database. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
13. Unsworth, Richard K. F.; Callaway, Ruth. "How underwater gardening can rewild the Atlantic Ocean". The Conversation. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
14. "Helping Oyster Growers and Marine Ecosystems in Rhode Island". Farmers.gov. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
15. "Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative". Essex Native Oysters. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
16. "Restoring oysters on the Humber". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
17. "Sussex Kelp Restoration Project". Sussex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
18. "Paradigm Shift On How To Restore Kelp Forests". Sea Trees. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
19. "Plantwatch: kelp – forgotten forests that help tackle climate crisis". the Guardian. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
20. "Kelp Forest Restoration Project". The Bay Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
21. "Marine Program". Fundación Rewilding Chile. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
22. "Rewilding the sea is the new way to capture carbon, says Eustice". Blue Marine Foundation. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
23. "Seawilding – an entity, and an idea that was born out of the hopes, aspirations and motivations of a community association called CROMACH". UN Decade on Restoration. Retrieved 17 January 2022.