Forgotten value
of seagrass meadows. Crucial
for world’s fisheries.
Life in the ocean is under threat from a variety of manmade issues, including climate change, mining and over-fishing. Yet our understanding of marine ecosystems still remains far from complete.
New research by Unsworth et al (2018) has revealed just how important seagrass meadows are for fish populations and as a result for humanity’s fisheries. Seagrass meadows are found in the shallow seas around all the continents (aside from Antarctica) between the intertidal zone and 60 meters deep.
The researchers found that seagrass meadows provide a nursery habitat for over a fifth of the world’s largest 25 fisheries and provide support to a large number of other small-scale fisheries around the world. The study indicates that these seagrass meadows should be maintained in order to maximise their role in global fisheries production.
Original research: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12566
Interested in seagrass meadows? They also play a hugely important role in sequestering carbon. Find out more with this sciku here.
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