Projects

Seahorses and eel grass habitat survey

Picture shows eel grass, zostera marina, an important species

© Seasearch

Seahorses are one of the species of marine life that an experienced team of volunteer sports divers from the national underwater survey organisation, Seasearch, looked for when they visited the River Dart, this September. With help from DEEM, the divers and their photographers mapped the extent of the seahorses’ habitat of eel grass beds found in the near-shore zone in the River Dart.

The network of eel grass (zostera marina) roots helps to stabilise the estuary and seabed and the leaves provide a rich nursery habitat for fish and other animals including seahorses.

Gavin Black from Devon Wildlife Trust and Neil Garrick-Maidment from The Seahorse Trust provided support for the divers as they recorded the marine life they found, and monitored the habitat’s state of health. The survey is part of an ongoing national monitoring process aimed at establishing the richest sites for marine life around the UK, the sites where there are problems and the sites that need protection.

The results of the River Dart eel grass survey can be downloaded in pdf format from this page.