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Report by ITV Channel s Kate Prout
Conservationists are asking Guernsey beachgoers to report any sightings of seagrass, or eelgrass, as it is sometimes known.
The UK has lost 90% of its seagrass meadows, with almost half this loss occurring within the last 30 years. This is largely down to pollution, dredging and trawling and coastal development.
Seagrass at Portelet Harbour, Guernsey. Credit: Seagrass at Portelet Harbour, Guernsey.
Seagrass is considered the lungs of the sea . A single acre of seagrass can support almost 40,000 fish and 50 million small invertebrates.
Seagrass is one of our most important habitats, its a nursery ground for juvenile fish and its home to the most incredible wildlife including seahorses. But its also an amazing carbon store, so it actually sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere about 20 times more efficiently than a rainforest. So when we re looking at tackling climate change and mitigating the impact eelgrass is really impor