An initiative by the Por el Mar Foundation proposed a seaweed planting project to preserve the submarine forests off the coast of Patagonia.
The prestigious magazine Science recently published a letter signed by twenty researchers under the title Protecting kelp forests. There they detail what the project is about.
Seaweed planting to preserve submarine forests
The coasts of Argentine Patagonia still harbor pristine kelp forests, which are a refuge for dolphins, penguins, and sharks, among other species.
With the aim of protecting these macroalgae forests and creating a viable productive matrix for regional economies, the foundation is working on a regenerative planting project.
It is the species macrocystis pyrifera, in the bay of Puerto San Julián, a coastal town in the province of Santa Cruz.
“These submerged forests are very productive and biodiverse ecosystems, with a large number of associated species that directly or indirectly depend on them,” said Cristian Lagger, scientific director of Por el Mar and signatory of the letter.
The researcher from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and National Geographic explorer added: “The same thing happens with terrestrial forests and the life of insects, birds, and mammals, among others. Kelp forests also generate oxygen and sequester carbon dioxide.”
How regenerative planting works
The farm’s work begins with the collection of reproductive material from an adult individual of a natural population of the species. Then, in a hatchery, new individuals are developed in seawater tanks with controlled physicochemical variables from the obtained spores.
When they reach five millimeters in size, they are taken to the sea, to a structure called a “farm,” where they will grow to reach the desired size. After harvesting, the algae are processed according to their future use.
To evaluate the feasibility of cultivation, the impacts of their presence in the bay and the growth of algae in the farm with respect to natural populations are also monitored.
They seek to have a clear understanding of the positive, negative, or absent impacts of the activity on the substrate, water, and biological communities.
The benefits of submarine forests
“They sustain a high biodiversity and essential ecosystem services along 30% of the world’s coasts. However, they are subject to serious threats due to marine heatwaves, underwater deforestation, pollution, and overfishing,” indicate the scientists in the publication.
The same text points out that less than 1% of the kelp forests in Latin America, which include Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Argentina and cover approximately 40% of their global distribution, are in Marine Protected Areas.
Finally, it warns: “Urgent actions are imperative to ensure the persistence of this globally important marine ecosystem.”
“We are in the early stages of a scientific pilot project. All steps are protocolized, and we have signed agreements with international NGOs that do it,” Lagger detailed about the project.
“We are consulting with the GreenWave organization, which promotes regenerative aquaculture. We are setting an example for those who come after us and take responsibility for mistakes to show the way of how it’s done,” he concluded.
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