Marine habitat restoration

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Marine habitats such as seagrass meadows and native oyster reefs provide food, shelter, and nursery areas to commercial fishery species and countless other marine organisms; improve water quality, and potentially capture and store carbon. They have a role to play in meeting Scottish Government commitments on climate change and biodiversity loss.

Many of Scotland’s marine and coastal habitats have suffered catastrophic declines as a result of pollution, habitat destruction, bottom-contact fishing, and climate change. For example, Scottish seagrass extent has declined almost 60% since the mid-nineteenth century and native oysters have been all but extirpated.

Restoration is fundamentally about the recovery of ecosystems and tends to involve one of two strategies. The first involves human intervention to initiate or accelerate the recovery of species and habitats. Seawilding is the UK’s first community-led native oyster and seagrass restoration project, aiming to release over 1 million native oysters and plant up to one half of a hectare of seagrass annually to Loch Craignish. The second approach involves removing existing pressures and allowing marine habitats to recover naturally, such as has occured in Lamlash Bay following the designation of a No-Take Zone.

There has been a surge in interest to restore marine habitats and several community-led restoration projects are already underway. The CCN Restoration Forum was established in 2022 to provide a space for these groups and partners to come together to discuss shared opportunities and challenges.

The Forum has developed a shared vision for community-led marine restoration in Scotland:

‘Our vision is for a Scotland-wide network of community-based groups leading marine habitat restoration projects, which deliver benefits for both nature, climate and people, now and for future generations, including sustainable livelihood opportunities, food security, and community empowerment.’

See examples of some restoration projects below!