Seagrass Decline in Moreton Bay: What Long-Term Research Reveals About Ocean Change

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I want you to imagine you're diving
into a shallow bay where your fin

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stir up a lush green carpet beneath
you, a carpet that hides sea turtles,

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juvenile fish, and secrets of the sea.

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Now imagine that carpet shrinking,
thinning, and changing color

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vanishing patch by patch.

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That's what scientists are seeing today in
Moreton Bay, Australia, and it's a warning

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for every coast, including our own.

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We're gonna be discussing the disappearing
Seagrass Meadows over a decadal, or

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more than a decade study of this area
and why we need to protect it as well

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as other seagrasses around the world.

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On this episode of the How to Protect
the Ocean Podcast, let's start the show.

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Hey everybody.

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Welcome back to another exciting episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin, and
this is the podcast where you find

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out what's happening with the ocean,
how you can speak up for the ocean,

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and what you can do to live for
a better ocean by taking action.

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And I'm telling you right now,
this is a special episode.

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It's special for a number of reasons.

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One.

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I'm discussing a habitat
that I really, really enjoy.

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It's called the Seagrass Meadow.

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Seagrasses are extremely important.

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We're gonna get into it, why they're
so important today, but today is

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very special because I have been
wanting to do this for a long time.

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I would like to kick off the
project called the Seagrass Effect.

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It is going to be a Seagrass podcast
that's gonna share research, conservation

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and restoration news from around the
world about seagrasses on a podcast.

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Its very own seagrass podcast
called The Seagrass Effect.

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It's going to be part of the Speak
Up for Blue Podcast Network, and I am

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doing a crowdfunding for this podcast,
the Seagrass Effect on a crowdfunding

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site, a new crowdfunding site specific

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for Ocean Projects called balean.org.

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You may have seen me interview
the founders, Sanders and Bart

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Oor on this podcast at some
point in time over the summer.

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I did it twice, actually.

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Talked about collaboration.

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Now we are capitalizing.

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They have launched a site, balean.org.

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They have launched a number of
projects including mine, where I'm

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trying to raise money to launch this
podcast, and I'm trying to do it

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for the new year, and what you
can do is you can donate your

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money to get this podcast going.

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And the reason I'm doing this is
because I want this to be your

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podcast, not just my podcast.

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I want this to be your podcast.

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This is a podcast where we're gonna find
out what's happening with seagrasses.

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We're gonna find out what
research is going on.

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We're gonna find out about the
restoration efforts that are

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happening around the world, and of
course, the conservation efforts

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that are happening around the world.

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It's going to be awesome.

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We're gonna hear from
people all over the world.

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I can't wait for it.

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So if you wanna donate and get
this thing going, you can go to

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speak up for blue.com/seagrass.

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It'll take you right to my
Balean page for my project.

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You can donate right there.

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You can also donate to Balean
to support their work in all the

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other projects that they're doing.

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Check it out.

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That's speak up for blue.com/.

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Sea grass.

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Now you're wondering,
Andrew, why seagrass?

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Why not coral reefs?

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Why not the deep sea?

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There's so many other ways we can do.

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It's because we don't know a lot
about seagrasses and it's not really

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a thing that we discuss every day.

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You see on beautiful documentaries of
coral reefs, it is wonderful to see.

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But the sea grasses, they
kind of have a bum wrap.

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They are green, they are lush and they
handle a lot of biodiversity, but we just

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don't really understand how important they
are to coastal ecosystems, how important

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they are to fisheries, how important
they are to protecting our coastline.

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Now I've been talking about it on this
podcast for a long time, but when you

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dive or go snorkeling on a seagrass
meadow, you never know what to expect.

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You really don't.

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It is phenomenal to see.

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Case in point, I was
snorkeling with my brother.

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We were going out, we
were in the Grand Cayman.

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We were on a family trip.

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My brother and I decided to go
around the corner, around the

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coast corner, catch a wave.

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Like catch a current and come
back around into this massive bay.

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So we go, we get a drive, we
go to this corner, we hit a

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bunch of rocks, we go diving in.

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We have snorkels, we have a
mask, we have a buoy just in

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case we get lost, God forbid.

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And we don't really know exactly what
we're doing or where we're going,

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but we're told this current will
just kind of take us into this bay.

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So we follow the current and we
see, you know, like little sharks.

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As old, my brother said he saw
a massive shark, but it's a

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little four foot nurse shark.

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We see a bunch of fish, we see a number
of different corals, and we see these rock

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scapes and sea turtles and everything.

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It is wonderful.

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We start to come in closer to the bay.

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Now, there was a bit of a current
that took us in, but it wasn't

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taking us right into the bay.

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So we had to kick, kick, kick as
much as possible to get into the bay.

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But once we did, we got
into very shallow water.

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We're probably looking at about maybe
four feet, three to four feet, and my

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brother and I are just kind of going over
and we're going over a sea grass meadow.

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And as we're going over this seagrass
meadow, we start to see this movement

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of all these fish and all these little
invertebrates, these little shrimp

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that are in the seagrass meadow.

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They're hiding in the blades
of these plants, of these

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specialized aquatic plants.

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And they're starting to like
move away from us as we kind of

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come across and then we see it.

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We see this massive stingray just
hovering right above the seagrass meadow.

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It was incredible.

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So incredible that I went, holy cow.

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Like yelled it out into my snorkel.

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So more sound like, holy cow.

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It was awesome.

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We enjoyed it.

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We talked about it forever.

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And once we got to shore, we had a couple
beers and we were talking about how cool

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and how lick the size of that stingray.

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And my brother, who is not a
marine biologist, who doesn't

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snorkel or doesn't screw.

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Couldn't believe how much life
was in these seagrasses, and this

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is why they are so important.

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One of the reasons why
they are so important.

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They provide so much biodiversity and
so much protection for juvenile fish.

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These little larva and growing larvae
of invertebrates is just the amount of

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biodiversity sometimes, and oftentimes
outweighs and outperforms and out

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produces the biodiversity of coral
reefs and this is why it's so important.

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We just don't know about it.

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'cause we don't talk about it a lot.

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And there are a lot of researchers
out there that are talking about a

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project seagrass, a numbers, a network
of researchers that are doing in

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Europe and along the coastlines in
North America and all over the world.

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And so we need to talk more about it.

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But today we're gonna be focusing on
Moreton Bay in Australia because there

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was this long-term study, 19 years
I believe was the study and it was

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absolutely phenomenal in this study.

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It was a study that was able to
document a long-term decline.

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I know you're like, Andrew, why are
you getting so excited about this?

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A long-term decline in a number of
different indicators, I guess is what

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you'd call it, a number of different
indicators of seagrass health.

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And the difference here is that the
long-term study shows this long-term

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decline, but there are a lot of
short-term studies that happen.

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We'll talk about that in a little bit that
don't show this long-term decline, and

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that is where we lose the pieces of how
healthy a Seagrass meadow actually is.

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But first, before we get
into that, I wanted to talk a

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little bit about Moreton Bay.

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'cause Moreton Bay is a special area.

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And I've got some stuff that was
written, I did a little research

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here that I have to remember.

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there was a lot of stuff to talk
about, but essentially it's a large,

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shallow, semi enclosed coastal
embankment in Australia, located in

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southeastern Queensland, Australia,
adjacent to the city of Brisbane.

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So Brisbane, we know Brisbane.

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It's a coastline town on the east coast
of Australia, it's on the Barrier Reef.

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It's just beautiful.

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The Moreton Bay stretches roughly about
125 kilometers from Kundra in the north

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to the Gold Coast in the South, covering
an area above 1500 square kilometers.

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The bay is shielded from the
Coral sea by a chain of long sandy

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barrier islands, Moreton Island,

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North Strat, broke Island and South
Strat, broke Island, which create

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calm, protected waters inside.

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This is where the meadows, these sea
grass meadows could actually, basically

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live and thrive in these areas.

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Now, the base depth average is
around 10 meters, making it an ideal

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environment for seagrass meadows,
mangroves, and tidal flats, which

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together form one of Australia's
most productive coastal ecosystems.

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These habitats support an
incredible diversity of life.

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Dugongs, green sea turtles,
dolphins, migratory shorebirds, and

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hundreds of fish species, depending
on the bay's rich food webs.

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Now several rivers, including the
Brisbane, Logan and Pine Rivers flow

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into Moreton Bay carrying sediments and
nutrients from the surrounding catchments.

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The mix of freshwater and seawater creates
gradients of salinity and turbidity that

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influence the distribution of marine
vegetation such as sea grass, however.

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The same river inflows can also bring
pollutants and sediments from urban

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and agricultural areas, threatening
the Bay's water quality, which we're

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gonna get into in just a little bit.

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Moreton Bay is part of Moreton
Bay Park, established in 1993

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to protect its ecological,
cultural and recreational values.

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The park encompasses both protected
zones and areas open to sustainable

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fishing, boating, and tourism.

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This looks like a multi management
system, just like the Great Barrier Reef.

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Obviously not in the same size.

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In addition to its ecological importance,
the Bay holds deep cultural significance

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to the Quandamooka people, the
traditional custodians of the region

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who have maintained connections to these
waters for thousands of years through

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fishing ceremony and stewardship.

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Today, Moreton Bay is a living
laboratory where scientists study

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coastal change, habitat restoration
and the effects of climate and

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human activity on marine ecosystems.

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It represents both a biodiversity
hotspot and a warning system showing

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how quickly coastal environments can
change when pressures like development,

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pollution, and extreme weather converge.

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So in this study, decal monitoring shows
seagrass decline and community shifts

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following environmental disturbance in
Moreton Bay, Southeastern Queensland.

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Australia is such a
long, long, long title.

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The Decadal range covered
between 2004 and 2023.

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So there's a long range.

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Now, what's nice about this is no matter
what disturbances happen, so we talked

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about earlier I mentioned how there's
like storm events or flood events.

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These things have short term
effects on a seagrass meadows.

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So if you're looking at short term, you
can see that the seagrass meadows is

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probably ruined or uprooted in some areas.

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May shrink in size after a flood or
after some sort of major storm event.

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But it quickly, in about one or
two years, come back to a normal

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size, but not all the time.

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Sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller,
depending on what's happening after that.

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However, when you look at a
long-term study 19 years between

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2004 and 2023, you start to see how
the patches are getting smaller.

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And what's happening.

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So some of the disturbance events that
happened with major flood cyclones

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and water quality fluctuations allowed
scientists to evaluate how their

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seagrass Meadows responded and recovered
or even failed to recover over time.

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So I thought it was really cool.

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They looked at seagrass extent.

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species of actual seagrasses
and resilience to environmental

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disturbances in Moreton Bay, Queensland.

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So that's what they're looking for.

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So what they noticed was that the
total seagrass cover declined.

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The overall area of Seagrass
Meadows in Eastern Banks of

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Moreton Bay shrunk compared to
the early two thousands Baseline.

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The loss was most pronounced after
major disturbance events, such

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as extreme rainfall, flooding

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and resulting turbidity which reduce
light penetration and smothered sea grass.

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Species diversity and dominance changed.

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There was a decline in species richness.

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So the number of species which sensitive
species like Halophila ovalis and Halodule

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00:11:25,010 --> 00:11:29,858
uninervis, sorry for my mispronounced
of the species names losing ground

229
00:11:29,858 --> 00:11:30,788
in some areas.

230
00:11:30,788 --> 00:11:31,838
They lost ground in some areas.

231
00:11:31,928 --> 00:11:36,278
These were often replaced or out competed
by more tolerant, opportunistic species

232
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that can handle the turbidity and the
unstable conditions indicating that a

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shift in community structure happen.

234
00:11:40,968 --> 00:11:44,298
Now, this is really interesting
because when you start to see these

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00:11:44,298 --> 00:11:49,158
shifts from like more sensitive to
disturbance a species to a more tolerant

236
00:11:49,158 --> 00:11:53,808
species, this is very similar to
what we're seeing happen in a lot of

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00:11:53,888 --> 00:11:55,028
coral reef areas.

238
00:11:55,178 --> 00:11:58,088
A lot of the corals, like the branching
corals are a little bit more sensitive

239
00:11:58,088 --> 00:12:01,178
to temperature change or pH change.

240
00:12:01,308 --> 00:12:03,528
We're starting to see them
functionally extinct in certain

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00:12:03,528 --> 00:12:07,451
areas like Key West, which is very
disturbing, and to even see that.

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It's not something we wanna see.

243
00:12:09,285 --> 00:12:13,575
It's the precursor to like actual
extinction in specific areas, but we're

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seeing a more tolerant species stay
around like the softer corals that can

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handle these different types of species,
which was predicted a long, long time ago

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00:12:21,121 --> 00:12:24,121
when we start to look at how climate
change was gonna affect coral reefs.

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It is kind of interesting to see that
it's the same thing happening with a

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00:12:27,001 --> 00:12:30,151
lot of different species, especially
in these important, important habitats.

249
00:12:30,255 --> 00:12:34,575
Now, we also saw change in habitat
quality and density that decrease.

250
00:12:34,575 --> 00:12:37,155
So seagrass biomass and chute density.

251
00:12:37,155 --> 00:12:41,783
So the chutes are like underneath, fell
in several monitoring zones, meaning less

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00:12:41,783 --> 00:12:46,220
habitat, complexity for marine life such
as turtles, dugongs, and fish nurseries.

253
00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,106
And then of course, these declines
reduce the bay's blue carbon capacity.

254
00:12:50,186 --> 00:12:53,876
Now these seagrass meadows have
the ability to sequester carbon.

255
00:12:53,876 --> 00:12:57,506
That means they can keep carbon
inside, not only their aquatic

256
00:12:57,506 --> 00:13:00,273
plants, but also in the root
system, which is really interesting.

257
00:13:00,273 --> 00:13:03,483
So the fact that they lose that the
ability, it's the ability to score

258
00:13:03,483 --> 00:13:08,613
carbon and the ecosystem resilience of
having a diverse and more complex system

259
00:13:08,613 --> 00:13:09,903
of Seagrass Meadows.

260
00:13:09,903 --> 00:13:12,843
It'll actually lead to further
environmental change down the road.

261
00:13:12,843 --> 00:13:16,513
So, in short, the study documented
decrease in seagrass area species

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00:13:16,513 --> 00:13:19,753
diversity and structural health
with long-term implications for

263
00:13:19,753 --> 00:13:22,903
biodiversity, carbon storage,
and coastal ecosystem stability.

264
00:13:23,050 --> 00:13:26,746
That is essentially what the study
covered . This is something that

265
00:13:26,746 --> 00:13:31,846
is not good when we look at how
we monitor and manage these areas.

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00:13:31,846 --> 00:13:33,616
Now, the monitoring is important.

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00:13:33,676 --> 00:13:37,576
Having this long-term study where
short-term studies can see quick

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00:13:37,576 --> 00:13:41,566
recovery after storms or flooding
doesn't necessarily mean that it's going

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00:13:41,566 --> 00:13:41,986
better.

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00:13:41,986 --> 00:13:45,026
What they notice is that the patches
kept getting smaller and smaller

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00:13:45,026 --> 00:13:47,546
over the years, but when you see
like a patch get really, really small

272
00:13:47,546 --> 00:13:49,736
and then grow back, you're like,
oh, it actually did really well.

273
00:13:49,736 --> 00:13:51,746
Within a year or two,
it started to come back.

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00:13:51,746 --> 00:13:53,216
That means it must be coming back.

275
00:13:53,276 --> 00:13:56,276
But when you look at the 19 year
data set and you start to see

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00:13:56,276 --> 00:13:59,396
these patches over time getting
smaller and smaller, even though the

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00:13:59,396 --> 00:14:02,726
fluctuation kind of goes, it shrinks
and then grows and shrinks and grows.

278
00:14:02,846 --> 00:14:04,376
It's growing smaller and smaller.

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00:14:04,376 --> 00:14:06,056
It doesn't have the time to recover.

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00:14:06,436 --> 00:14:10,126
I assume what would happen if it's in
a healthy state and these storms come

281
00:14:10,126 --> 00:14:14,326
in, they break down maybe a specific
habitat, shrink it in its size and maybe

282
00:14:14,326 --> 00:14:16,246
even species diversity or even just size.

283
00:14:16,546 --> 00:14:20,120
Having that species diversity still
there can allow it to grow back to its

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00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,190
original size if it's given the time.

285
00:14:22,290 --> 00:14:26,280
But the frequency of those storms, the
frequency of those flood events, the

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00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,660
frequency of those disturbances with
other cumulative effects like increased

287
00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:35,586
nutrients or sediment that can actually
smother these plants is not going to help

288
00:14:35,586 --> 00:14:40,506
when we're looking at long-term data sets
or long-term health of the seagrasses.

289
00:14:40,506 --> 00:14:43,206
So that's something that needs to improve.

290
00:14:43,206 --> 00:14:46,986
So here's what the study authors
kind of said between the two things.

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00:14:47,046 --> 00:14:50,826
Obviously we need more decadal
study, we need more long-term data

292
00:14:50,826 --> 00:14:52,536
sets and continued monitoring.

293
00:14:52,536 --> 00:14:53,976
That's something that's really big.

294
00:14:53,976 --> 00:14:55,896
So that's something that
really needs to help.

295
00:14:55,896 --> 00:14:57,696
So we need to improve water quality.

296
00:14:57,855 --> 00:15:00,765
The study identified turbidity
and nutrient runoff, especially

297
00:15:00,765 --> 00:15:03,795
from catchments that are key
drivers to sea grass decline.

298
00:15:03,795 --> 00:15:06,855
Looking at sediments and nutrient
loads entering Moreton Bay by improving

299
00:15:06,855 --> 00:15:09,615
catchment manages, especially around
the Brisbane and Logan Rivers.

300
00:15:09,615 --> 00:15:11,935
So those are two rivers
that cause the most damage.

301
00:15:12,035 --> 00:15:15,155
Actions include strengthening
the erosion control or on

302
00:15:15,155 --> 00:15:16,985
agricultural and construction lands.

303
00:15:16,985 --> 00:15:18,191
That'll be really important.

304
00:15:18,291 --> 00:15:20,991
Upgrading stormwater and wastewater
treatment infrastructure.

305
00:15:20,991 --> 00:15:24,561
Restoring riparian vegetation
and filter runoff before it

306
00:15:24,561 --> 00:15:25,431
enters the coastal waters.

307
00:15:25,431 --> 00:15:27,141
All three of these things can be done.

308
00:15:27,261 --> 00:15:28,161
That's the good news.

309
00:15:28,401 --> 00:15:32,571
All three of these things can be done
if the political will and the money is

310
00:15:32,571 --> 00:15:34,891
there to help these seagrass meadows.

311
00:15:34,991 --> 00:15:35,516
That can be done.

312
00:15:36,131 --> 00:15:37,631
That's not difficult to do.

313
00:15:37,721 --> 00:15:40,091
That's been done before,
and it can be done again.

314
00:15:40,091 --> 00:15:42,671
So don't let people tell you
that it can't be done, that

315
00:15:42,671 --> 00:15:45,971
this restoration or protection,
long-term protection can be done.

316
00:15:46,075 --> 00:15:48,951
You can also maintain and
expand long-term monitoring.

317
00:15:49,031 --> 00:15:50,365
That's something that's
gonna be really good.

318
00:15:50,461 --> 00:15:51,871
Monitoring costs money.

319
00:15:51,991 --> 00:15:53,941
Now you can use like remote sensing.

320
00:15:53,941 --> 00:15:55,681
You can use drone footage.

321
00:15:55,681 --> 00:15:59,041
You can use just regular
monitoring, quadrat studies and

322
00:15:59,041 --> 00:16:00,361
so forth, quadrat monitoring.

323
00:16:00,465 --> 00:16:03,345
And that can be done by students
and by academic institutions

324
00:16:03,345 --> 00:16:04,845
and by nonprofit organizations.

325
00:16:04,845 --> 00:16:07,875
These things are not quite expensive,
although the resources are expensive.

326
00:16:07,875 --> 00:16:09,045
Obviously drones are expensive.

327
00:16:09,045 --> 00:16:12,105
Satellite imagery can be costly
if it's not freely available.

328
00:16:12,105 --> 00:16:14,265
But you can actually tell a lot from this.

329
00:16:14,265 --> 00:16:15,105
But it costs money.

330
00:16:15,105 --> 00:16:18,731
It costs resources like people and,
materials and stuff to actually

331
00:16:18,731 --> 00:16:19,901
do this kind of monitoring.

332
00:16:19,901 --> 00:16:21,211
And it can get expensive at time.

333
00:16:21,211 --> 00:16:24,251
I've seen this before with long-term
monitoring studies is that you'll see

334
00:16:24,251 --> 00:16:28,391
like gaps during those certain years
where funding was either taken away

335
00:16:28,391 --> 00:16:30,281
or at reallocated to something else.

336
00:16:30,281 --> 00:16:33,371
But as long as you have that
long-term data set and you keep

337
00:16:33,371 --> 00:16:36,611
coming back and allowing it to
kind of grow and grow and grow.

338
00:16:36,611 --> 00:16:41,201
You can get back into a better state
with these long-term monitoring data sets.

339
00:16:41,381 --> 00:16:43,661
You can manage the disturbance impact.

340
00:16:43,661 --> 00:16:47,021
So Seagrass lost in Moreton Bay was
strongly linked to extreme weather events.

341
00:16:47,021 --> 00:16:49,781
So obviously you can't stop the
weather events, floods and storms.

342
00:16:49,781 --> 00:16:51,401
And of course there are turbidity pulses.

343
00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:55,271
However, the authors suggest proactive
measures to mitigate and manage

344
00:16:55,271 --> 00:16:58,811
disturbances, such as protecting
refuge meadows, so areas that are

345
00:16:58,811 --> 00:17:02,921
less impacted by runoff or turbidity
to allow them to serve as a seed and

346
00:17:02,921 --> 00:17:05,418
propag resources for the recovery.

347
00:17:05,418 --> 00:17:09,408
So allow them to be like they're in good
shape even during these storm areas.

348
00:17:09,498 --> 00:17:13,128
So allow them to, you know, like
they'll have their seeds and allow

349
00:17:13,128 --> 00:17:15,198
them to restore the rest of the reef.

350
00:17:15,198 --> 00:17:16,938
Use that as a source.

351
00:17:17,028 --> 00:17:20,838
You can implement rapid response plans
after major disturbances to assess

352
00:17:20,838 --> 00:17:24,948
and assist recovery, for instance,
by reducing local stressors like

353
00:17:24,948 --> 00:17:27,108
boat damage or dredging after runoff.

354
00:17:27,108 --> 00:17:31,008
So let's not put more impact on
them after these big stressors.

355
00:17:31,008 --> 00:17:33,648
Let's put less impact by
doing that right after.

356
00:17:33,648 --> 00:17:35,778
And maybe just short term responses.

357
00:17:35,875 --> 00:17:37,825
You can protect high quality habitats.

358
00:17:37,825 --> 00:17:39,505
So we kind of mentioned it earlier before.

359
00:17:39,505 --> 00:17:43,165
They emphasize protecting remaining
healthy seagrass meadows from physical

360
00:17:43,165 --> 00:17:46,465
disturbances such as anchoring,
dredging, and coastal development.

361
00:17:46,465 --> 00:17:51,060
I've had the project Seagrasses guys, and,
team on this podcast a number of times.

362
00:17:51,060 --> 00:17:52,590
The biggest thing that
they said is anchoring.

363
00:17:52,590 --> 00:17:55,320
So having a buoy system where you
can actually, the boats can like

364
00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,510
link up to a buoy system so they
don't put their anchors down.

365
00:17:57,510 --> 00:17:59,670
They can stay in one spot to
do whatever they need to do.

366
00:17:59,670 --> 00:18:00,870
That will be really helpful.

367
00:18:00,870 --> 00:18:03,240
Let's limit dredging and
then of coastal development.

368
00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:03,690
Of course.

369
00:18:03,890 --> 00:18:07,310
And then expanding and strengthening
marine park zoning in Moreton Bay

370
00:18:07,310 --> 00:18:11,030
was highlighted as a way to ensure
these meadowss remain functional and

371
00:18:11,030 --> 00:18:13,310
can recolonize degradated areas.

372
00:18:13,310 --> 00:18:15,800
And then, support active
restoration and research.

373
00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:16,700
That's gonna be very important.

374
00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:18,890
Restoration is very expensive,
so you can support that.

375
00:18:18,890 --> 00:18:19,610
That would be great.

376
00:18:19,610 --> 00:18:22,250
So active restoration, such as
transplanting sea grass shoots,

377
00:18:22,460 --> 00:18:25,910
reseeding, and improving substrate
stability is always helpful.

378
00:18:26,225 --> 00:18:30,005
They encourage further research in
restoration techniques, light thresholds

379
00:18:30,065 --> 00:18:33,845
for recovery and the resilience
traits of local species to inform

380
00:18:33,845 --> 00:18:35,495
large scale restoration planning.

381
00:18:35,525 --> 00:18:38,465
And then finally address climate
and cumulative stressors.

382
00:18:38,465 --> 00:18:40,685
We know what we need to do to do that.

383
00:18:40,805 --> 00:18:45,395
Let's limit our emissions, include
protecting deeper, cooler water meadows,

384
00:18:45,540 --> 00:18:49,230
and identifying potential migration
zones for seagrass as conditions shift.

385
00:18:49,310 --> 00:18:51,590
So the big thing is
reduce local stressors.

386
00:18:51,590 --> 00:18:54,710
So pollution, turbidity, dredging,
sustaining long-term monitoring

387
00:18:54,710 --> 00:18:58,490
to track trends like we're already
doing, protecting and restoring key

388
00:18:58,490 --> 00:19:02,450
habitats, and integrating climate
resilience into coastal management.

389
00:19:02,450 --> 00:19:03,770
That's what we need to do.

390
00:19:03,830 --> 00:19:06,620
So we have the problem, we have the
area, we have the problem that it's

391
00:19:06,620 --> 00:19:10,130
facing, and we have the solutions
now we need to implement it.

392
00:19:10,310 --> 00:19:11,990
And what's interesting about this.

393
00:19:12,208 --> 00:19:13,738
You know, like I said, I love seagrasses.

394
00:19:13,738 --> 00:19:15,658
I almost did a PhD on Seagrasses.

395
00:19:15,658 --> 00:19:19,258
but the one thing that's interesting to
me about this, and the project that I'm

396
00:19:19,258 --> 00:19:23,301
putting on for the Seagrass effect is that
people who donate to the Seagrass effect,

397
00:19:23,301 --> 00:19:27,481
we're gonna be taking a portion of that
money and we're gonna be helping restore a

398
00:19:27,481 --> 00:19:30,711
site of seagrasses somewhere in the world.

399
00:19:30,881 --> 00:19:32,336
And we're gonna just keep going.

400
00:19:32,336 --> 00:19:35,636
As long as the Seagrass effect is
going, we're gonna continue to support

401
00:19:35,636 --> 00:19:38,426
Seagrass restoration by your donation.

402
00:19:38,426 --> 00:19:42,126
So, par of the Seagrass donation is not
only gonna go to the Seagrass effect,

403
00:19:42,126 --> 00:19:47,706
the podcast to produce podcasts, to share
resources, to share research, to share

404
00:19:47,706 --> 00:19:52,236
conservation efforts, and to share tactics
among scientists who also listen to this.

405
00:19:52,236 --> 00:19:55,568
'cause one thing that I learned
about doing podcasting is that

406
00:19:55,568 --> 00:19:56,918
researchers will listen to it.

407
00:19:56,978 --> 00:19:58,478
Early career scientists will listen to it.

408
00:19:58,478 --> 00:20:00,878
Scientists will listen to the podcast
'cause they wanna find out what

409
00:20:00,878 --> 00:20:03,908
their colleagues are doing or they
wanna find out what somebody in their

410
00:20:03,908 --> 00:20:06,788
particular area are doing that's
different from them or where they can

411
00:20:06,788 --> 00:20:08,288
collaborate or they can learn from.

412
00:20:08,528 --> 00:20:12,848
And so just by having this podcast, we
are actually into integrating, sharing

413
00:20:12,848 --> 00:20:17,265
of knowledge for people around the world
on a regular basis, once a week basis.

414
00:20:17,385 --> 00:20:17,900
That's the goal.

415
00:20:18,615 --> 00:20:20,625
Once a week we release
an interview episode.

416
00:20:20,805 --> 00:20:23,685
That's the goal for this, and I
can't wait to bring it to you.

417
00:20:23,985 --> 00:20:27,285
On top of that, we're gonna help an
active seagrass restoration site.

418
00:20:27,285 --> 00:20:28,095
We're gonna help do that.

419
00:20:28,095 --> 00:20:31,545
We're gonna come in on the project and
we're gonna talk about the increase

420
00:20:31,545 --> 00:20:34,695
of what we were able to accomplish
and what that site is able to do.

421
00:20:34,705 --> 00:20:37,195
You're gonna be a part of
that restoration process.

422
00:20:37,315 --> 00:20:38,485
It's gonna be a lot of fun.

423
00:20:38,605 --> 00:20:39,565
I can't wait for you to do it.

424
00:20:39,565 --> 00:20:41,395
So if you go to speak up for blue.com/.

425
00:20:42,460 --> 00:20:46,000
Seagrass, so speak up
for blue.com/seagrass.

426
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:46,720
All one word.

427
00:20:46,990 --> 00:20:50,660
You can donate to the project
that's right now on Balean for

428
00:20:50,660 --> 00:20:52,130
the Seagrass Effect podcast.

429
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:53,630
I can't wait for you to see it.

430
00:20:53,730 --> 00:20:56,040
I can't wait to do it,
to be honest, but I need.

431
00:20:56,230 --> 00:20:58,270
That initial money to start this project.

432
00:20:58,270 --> 00:21:01,960
It's expensive, it's time consuming, and
I wanna make sure that I do this right.

433
00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,560
So, the Seagrass Effect, speak
up for blue.com/seagrass is

434
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:06,610
where you can go to donate.

435
00:21:06,610 --> 00:21:09,010
And of course, if you wanna
find out any of the resources,

436
00:21:09,010 --> 00:21:10,000
just check in the show notes.

437
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,100
And if you have a question,
a comment, love to hear it.

438
00:21:12,340 --> 00:21:13,480
Let me know in the comments below.

439
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:14,463
If you're watching this on YouTube.

440
00:21:14,536 --> 00:21:16,276
If you're listening to this on
your favorite podcast app, you

441
00:21:16,276 --> 00:21:17,626
can contact me in two ways.

442
00:21:17,841 --> 00:21:22,306
Instagram dm me at how to protect the
Ocean, that's at How to Protect the Ocean.

443
00:21:22,426 --> 00:21:26,596
Or you can go to speak up for
blue.com/contact, fill out the

444
00:21:26,596 --> 00:21:28,156
form and go right to my email.

445
00:21:28,156 --> 00:21:29,866
I'll answer you back as soon as possible.

446
00:21:29,866 --> 00:21:33,411
I wanna thank you so much for not only
those of you who are considering donating

447
00:21:33,411 --> 00:21:37,581
to this project and getting it to start
up and supporting conservation research

448
00:21:37,581 --> 00:21:41,401
for sea grass and restoration, but
also for listening to this podcast here

449
00:21:41,401 --> 00:21:42,841
at How to Protect The Ocean Podcast.

450
00:21:43,111 --> 00:21:44,131
Thank you so much for listening.

451
00:21:44,131 --> 00:21:46,651
I'm your host, Andrew Lewin from
the True North Strong and Free.

452
00:21:46,651 --> 00:21:47,221
Have a great day.

453
00:21:47,221 --> 00:21:49,381
We'll talk to you next time
and happy conservation.