A group of Connemara volunteers spent days this summer swimming and kayaking through elusive underwater meadows, helping to map a coastal plant that could be a useful weapon in Ireland’s fight against climate change.
Initially formed to oppose the Sceirde Rocks offshore wind farm, the Connemara Coastal Protection group plotted a number of large seagrass meadows off the Galway coast.
Seagrass removes carbon from the environment much more quickly than land-based plants and can store up to twice as much carbon per metre as a mature forest. The plant removes carbon directly from the air through photosynthesis and can trap it in seabed sediment for thousands of years.
The proper mapping, protection and management of Ireland’s seagrass meadows could also significantly reduce penalties of up to €26 billion that Ireland will face in 2030 if it does not meet its climate targets.
Seagrass grows in shallow salt water, often around small islands, and is a distinct species from seaweed, which is a form of algae. Once common all over Irish coastal waters, seagrass meadows have been devastated over the past 100 years by a combination of pollution, high nutrient run-off from land, invasive species and destructive fishing techniques.
While records from the early 20th century are sparse, it is thought that a large portion of Ireland’s seagrass may have also been damaged by a wasting seagrass disease in the 1920s and 1930s.
As well as mapping the seagrass meadows, the Connemara Coastal Protection volunteers have also committed to ongoing monitoring and protection of these ecologically valuable underwater meadows.
The four Connemara sites are part of a network of 100 meadows mapped by citizen science volunteers across Ireland over the past year, all working in conjunction with the environmental NGO Coastwatch.
According to Coastwatch, if the Irish State was to formalise the mapping and monitoring work currently being undertaken by these volunteers, the seagrass meadows could count as a large blue carbon store, a term which refers to carbon captured and stored by ocean and coastal ecosystems.
This would significantly boost Ireland’s chances of reaching its 2030 carbon targets and decrease the €3 billion to €26 billion of compliance penalties that the State is expected to face.
Connemara local Siobhán Kennedy has played a significant role in mapping the seagrass meadows around Inishlacken near Roundstone; Mweenish close to Carna, Moyrus and Eyrephort in recent months.
Kennedy and other volunteers, trained by Coastwatch, used boats and kayaks while others swam carefully through the seagrass meadows to map their exact size, shape and condition.
“It is really beautiful. If you do manage to get out there into the water, it’s just like a large meadow. It is beautiful to see it, a meadow but underwater,” she says.
“When we were off Inishlacken, for example, we saw quite a few shoals of young fish moving through the seagrass. Seagrass is so important for a lot of these species.
“When we were off Eyrephort, close to Inishturk and Inishturbot, we saw a lot of young eels. When you are there and you see it, you feel like you are part of protecting this marine environment in a teeny-tiny way. It can be quite magical.”
Marine ecologist Karin Dubsky believes that the protection and development of Ireland’s seagrass meadows could have a positive effect on climate.
Under the current EU Nature Restoration Law, Ireland is required to put 30% of its degraded seagrass into effective restoration by 2030, based on the 2020 levels of seagrass cover.
Coastal local authorities became responsible for planning and development management near coastal areas following the enactment of the Maritime Area Planning Act in 2021.
Dubsky believes that a collaboration between these county councils and local volunteers could open the door for this seagrass to act as blue carbon credit for Ireland.
“Ireland can get carbon credits for this seagrass, but Ireland can’t just say that it has this seagrass there, it has to be able to show that these beds are managed and monitored,” says Dubsky, aprofessor at Trinity College Dublin and cofounder of Coastwatch Europe.
“The community volunteers are are doing the day-to-day work of watching, monitoring and managing the seagrass.
“All the Government needs to do is to give just one officer to each local authority, who is specifically there to work with local communities on the management of seagrass and blue carbon, then you have monitoring, management and reporting.
As well as mapping the seagrass meadows, volunteers are trained to examine local pressure points that could be affecting the health of the seagrass meadows and examine ways in which these pressures could be mitigated.
Kennedy says mapping and monitoring her local seagrass meadows has increased her sense of connection with her part of the world.
“Even if you don’t want to get into a kayak and get out on to the water, seagrass will often wash up on shore. If you know what to look for, then that can be valuable information. It means that somewhere out there are seagrass beds.
“It makes you feel connected with how it all works, all of these ecosystems.
“But there are two parts to this: one part is discovering areas that have not been mapped and the other side is looking after the areas that have already been mapped.
“These seagrass meadows are susceptible to the elements. They can be destroyed altogether. They have stressors such as nitrates from agriculture, dredging, storms, there are lots of things that can damage them. So this is an ongoing process for us.”
