Advanced mooring systems
Installing Advanced Mooring Systems forms a key part of our seagrass protection and regeneration programme.
Delicate seagrass meadows are easily disturbed and damaged by boats anchoring.
When seagrass meadows are disturbed or damaged by traditional mooring systems, we lose the environmental and cultural benefits that seagrass meadows provide. It also makes seagrass more prone to the influence of other stressors.
Advanced Mooring Systems
Traditional anchoring and mooring systems cause damage to seagrass meadows, as the chain drags along the seabed, disturbing and damaging the plants. A heavy concrete sinker block is also used to attached the mooring to the seabed, leaving a large and damaging footprint.
This is why we have created Advanced Mooring Systems (AMS), engineered with environmental sustainability in mind, they minimise the disruption to seagrass meadows.
These mooring systems use a series of mid-water floats to elevate the chain from the seabed, which allows seagrass to grow, undisturbed. To also mitigate the issue of attaching the mooring to the seabed, we have worked with anchor manufacturers and mooring service providers to deploy helical screw anchors in their place, reducing mooring impacts even further.
Success stories for AMS
We are currently trialling the design in several places around the UK, with promising results recorded so far. Back in 2019, we installed five Advanced Mooring Systems* in Cawsand Bay, Plymouth Sound, with a further 12 added in 2021.
We recently visited the site to monitor the seagrass, and a lush, thriving seagrass meadow now surrounds the base of the AMS moorings, with our data showing a huge 212% increase in seagrass cover.
By finding workable solutions like this, it allows communities to continue enjoying the Ocean, whilst having a lesser impact on the environment, allowing both people and nature to coexist.
*This was done in collaboration with our partners, the Marine Conservation Society, and funders Princess Yachts as part of the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Project.
