Diving to Protect Our Ocean’s Hidden Treasures

Dive Operations are focussed in Scotland and Cornwall where most of our dive volunteers are situated. 

In Scotland, our volunteers partner with the Solway Firth Partnership, the Newton Stewart Sub Agua Club and the environment team from Dumfries & Galloway Council on the  Solway Coast and Marine Project (SCAMP). The SCAMP project is looking at innovation in restoring, reinforcing, or expanding existing natural capital assets in the Solway Firth, the focus species /habitats being saltmarsh, seagrass and native oysters.

Volunteers are exploring Loch Ryan, near Stranraer, which apart from the man-made channel for the ferry port,  is a naturally shallow sea loch with a depth of around 2-6m. The emphasis is to find seagrass meadows, notably Zostera Marina. Our team have discovered a healthy seagrass bed (Zostera marina) covering approximately 1.2 hectares (around 3 acres) and work continues to locate and survey additional beds.

Seagrass, especially Zostera Marina, plays a vital role in our marine ecosystems. They are one of the most valuable and biodiverse habitats on the planet. It's not just a pretty sight underwater! These vibrant seagrass meadows are crucial for the health of our oceans and the species that call them home. They generate enormous amounts of oxygen, a single square metre can release as much as ten litres of oxygen a day through photosynthesis. Seagrass also helps combat climate change by absorbing huge amounts of carbon. They provide a nursery for many marine creatures, remove chemical elements that cause harmful algae blooms, stabilise sediments on the seabed thus indirectly reducing effects of coastal erosion and help improve water clarity. 

In Cornwall, our volunteers partner with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and other volunteer organisations such as Fathoms Free and Seasearch.

Surveys have been undertaken at various sites. 

Within the Looe and Whitsand Bay Marine Conservation Zone divers have carried out biodiversity surveys including a seagrass bed off Looe harbour and Plaidy beach, the James Egan Layne wreck, and reefs south of Looe Island. 

Other surveys at Gerran’s Bay have investigated a rare blue carbon habitat called Maerl beds.

These slow growing red seaweeds form purple branched coral like nodules. Thousands piled up on top of each other create a unique habitat, rich in biodiversity and capable of storing carbon more effectively than even seagrass.

Maerl beds are rare in the UK, and in England, they are only found in significant amounts in Cornwall. At Portscatho,  Maerl was found to cover up to 80% of the sea floor over a large area.

Maerl beds have recently been classified by the government as irreplaceable habitats, and although we have known there is Maerl in Cornwall for a long time, mapping efforts are highlighting the extent and ecological significance of these ecosystem.

It is hoped that more protection can be given to them from human threats, which include pollution and mobile fishing gear.  

During surveys, divers will carry out  spontaneous litter picks of marine litter including on one occasion a  monofilament ghost net that was full of marine animals, both alive and dead. 

The intention is to expand Dive Operations to include surveys of proposed seaweed farm sites and desalination effluent sites and in the restoration of native oysters.