At the Sidmouth Seafest 2022:
“Getting everyone – all ages involved and creative and engaged with thinking and acting positively to protect our seas.”
Giant kelp is the fastest growing green plant in the world – which stimulates the production of animal plankton, “the starting foodstuff for fish larvae”
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Planting seaweed and seagrass forests sets in motion a chain reaction that massively increases the fish population:
Fish absorb huge quantities of CO2… meaning the increase in their numbers would benefit the climate in a similar way to forests.
Planting seaweed and seagrass forests – Vision Group for Sidmouth
And there’s a fair bit of it locally:
Seagrass in Lyme Bay – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Seagrass in Plymouth Sound – Vision Group for Sidmouth
There’s one particular type of seaweed or seagrass that looks particularly interesting:
It has already been scientifically demonstrated that planting seaweed and seagrass – and sprinkling iron on the surface of the ocean, possibly in the form of desert sand or volcanic dust – sets in motion a chain reaction that massively increases the fish population, he said. The iron acts as a fertiliser for seaweed such as giant kelp “which is the fastest growing green plant in the world by a factor of 30 or 40”, he added. That stimulates the production of animal plankton – “the starting foodstuff for fish larvae.
And so, there is growing interest to increase the kelp forests in Lyme Bay.
There are business opportunities:
Seaweed proves successful for Sidmouth man’s new business | Sidmouth Herald
And there are all sorts of other opportunities…
The theme of this year’s Sidmouth Seafest is ‘Kelp our Oceans’:
Our new theme Kelp Our Oceans is set to get everyone – all ages involved and creative and engaged with thinking and acting positively to protect our seas.
Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub CIC – Promoting Fishing Heritage and Coastal Communities