How marine biologists are pioneering sustainable seagrass restoration techniques to save disappearing underwater meadows
Six years ago, I first stepped into the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries laboratory in Gloucester, wide-eyed as marine biologists showed me preserved seagrass samples pressed flat like flowers in enormous folders. That visit, part of my “For the Love of Seagrass” documentary, sparked a fascination that brought me back to witness groundbreaking research in seagrass restoration.
Why Seagrass Restoration Matters More Than Ever
When Marine Fisheries Habitat Specialist Forest Schenck sent out a call for research volunteers, I didn’t hesitate. Forest dives throughout Massachusetts’ North and South Shore waters, monitoring eelgrass meadow health firsthand—and what he’s seeing underscores the urgency of this work.
Massachusetts seagrass restoration efforts now focus on seedling propagation as our best hope for conserving rapidly disappearing eelgrass meadows. The ambitious “Seeding Project” aims to develop sustainable methods for harvesting seedlings from healthy meadows and redistributing them to restore damaged areas.
The Science Behind Sustainable Harvesting
Our mission was straightforward yet crucial: conduct a feasibility study to determine whether we can harvest seedling sections without disrupting entire meadow ecosystems. The research design was elegantly simple—a before-and-after comparison examining:
- Infaunal diversity: The underground community of animals and seeds in sediment cores
- Above-ground biomass: Seagrass seedlings and blade density at specific sites
- Ecosystem balance: Whether harvested areas maintain their biodiversity one year later
This baseline data will determine if seedling extraction can become a scalable, sustainable restoration tool.
Hands-On Discovery: What Lives Beneath the Seagrass Blades
Forest’s trained eye caught what I missed—two eelgrass seeds with their characteristic oval shape almost symmetrical, distinctly different from the brittle husks that crumbled under tweezers. Each discovery was carefully documented, building our biodiversity inventory for site A4.
The Real Excitement: Living Seagrass Communities
The seagrass sample bags that actually had seagrass delivered the day’s most thrilling discoveries. Emptying one revealed lush green blades—cool, silky, almost elastic to touch. As I admired the organic patterns they formed on the plastic tray, something moved.
“I have a worm!” I yelled.
The marine biologist smiled. “That’s a polychaete—a bristle worm.”
These segmented marine worms are ecosystem engineers, abundant in ocean environments worldwide. Unlike our smooth-bodied garden oligochaetes (“few-haired worms”), polychaetes are “many-haired worms” with bristly segments. Each segment functions as an independent processing unit with its own organ systems. Remarkably, they can regenerate lost body sections—and if you fish, you’ve likely used them as bait.
Beyond their fishing utility, polychaetes are environmental heroes. They oxygenate seafloor sediments and help prevent coastal erosion through their tube-dwelling architecture. Pretty cool!
Continuing through my sediment sample, I encountered three clay-like blobs with a distinctive texture. “Boston Blue Clay,” Forest explained—geological remnants that tell the story of our coastal landscape’s formation.
Around me, fellow volunteers worked methodically through their samples: PhD students, fisheries department staff, and college researchers, all united in this detective work.
The Bigger Picture: Building Sustainable Practices
“Why document everything before the seedlings are extracted?” I asked Forest.
“We need proof that removing seedling sections leaves the meadow healthy and productive,” he explained. “This research will create sustainable practices we can model elsewhere—ensuring we’re not just vacuuming up all the seeds.”
The approach is methodical: collect baseline data this year, extract seedlings, then return to the exact locations next year for comparison. Only by demonstrating minimal ecosystem impact can this restoration technique gain scientific credibility and regulatory approval. Pretty cool science!
The Challenge of Scale and Precision
After processing five sample bags, I understood why this work requires both patience and expertise. Distinguishing actual seeds from similar-looking rocks becomes increasingly difficult as eyes tire and attention wanes. But this precision is essential—every documented seed, husk, bivalve and organism contributes to our understanding of meadow’s health.
Looking Forward: Hope for Underwater Meadows
This research represents more than scientific curiosity—it’s a race against time to save critical marine habitats. Seagrass meadows support fisheries, protect coastlines from storm surge, and sequester carbon at rates exceeding tropical forests.
As climate change and coastal development pressure these underwater meadows, innovative restoration techniques like sustainable seedling harvesting may be our best hope for preserving these vital ecosystems for future generations.
The volunteers I worked alongside—from graduate students to seasoned researchers—represent the collaborative spirit essential for tackling environmental challenges. Spending a Friday knee-deep( OK elbow deep) in marine sediment analysis felt like privilege, not work.
Sometimes the most important conservation work happens not in dramatic field expeditions, but in quiet laboratories where dedicated scientists sort through mud, count seeds, and build the knowledge foundation for ecosystem restoration.
MA Division of Marine Fisheries
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930
Want to learn more about seagrass conservation? Check out our “For the Love of Seagrass” documentary series exploring these critical marine ecosystems here.
I also have some new Polychaete movies to add to you tube stay tuned!
Other Interesting Resources to check out:
Definitions of in infauna & Benthic- Smithsonian
Berkley university or Polychaetes
P.S. Claude Ai helped structure my paragraphs
