Many acres of seagrass beds crucial for the survival of sea turtles and other marine life have “completely collapsed” over the last four years, according to a leading environmental group.

The Bermuda Turtle Project says “immediate changes” are needed to save the remaining seagrass beds and to help new ones to grow.

While praising the conservation and research efforts already being carried out by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to protect seagrass habitats, Jennifer Gray, director of the Turtle Project, said more needs to be done in an opinion piece which appears on the Opinion section of The Royal Gazette today.

Ms Gray said the Bermuda Turtle Project (BTP) is resuming its in-water research this week after a 24-month absence caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but added it is already clear from observations “there have been some drastic changes in our marine environment”.

She said: “Once thriving seagrass beds have been in decline for some two decades, but over the last 48 months many acres of this critical habitat have completely collapsed with not a blade of grass left.

Read more here: https://www.royalgazette.com/environment/news/article/20210817/seagrass-beds-have-completely-collapsed-in-last-four-years/