Solent Seascape Project

Bringing together a wealth of expertise, enthusiasm and a shared vision for the future of the Solent, Dr Luke Helmer tells Sara Whatley what they have achieved so far in this ambitious five- year restoration project 

The Solent, the 522-square kilometre strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland England, is well known for many things: being a major shipping route; the sinking and resurrection of King Henry VIII’s warship Mary Rose; and now being the site of a huge five-year restoration project, Solent Seascape Project.   

This ambitious initiative – the first of its kind in the UK – has brought together 10 organisations, being led by Blue Marine Foundation. “We’re looking at oysters, saltmarsh, seagrass and seabird nesting habitats in particular,” explained Dr Luke Helmer, Restoration Science Manager for the project. “We’re reconnecting the Solent, restoring both actively and passively four key habitats but with a broader approach looking at the whole seascape too,” he continued. 

The need for this work is vital. In the complex network of harbours, islands, estuaries and sandbanks that make up the Solent, habitats are being lost and the biodiversity they support is declining. This is due to several threats that the Solent is facing including overuse, erosion, poor water quality and rising sea levels. 

“One of the main issues that a lot of the saltmarshes face is excessive nutrients [from water treatment plants, agriculture, fertiliser, and water run-off ] causing algal mats to form, that smother the plants which causes them to die, including the roots, and the sediment washes out,” Luke said. 

In several places, particularly around the oyster reefs and seagrass meadows, these habitats would not recover naturally without the active intervention this project is providing. 

Volunteers are vital to this project, but with a list of well over 500 they are well supported. “At the last oyster cleaning event (any oysters we bring into the Solent we have to clean to make sure they are not contaminated with anything else) we had over 140 people attend over three days,” said Luke. “On the Island there is a really strong volunteer community. It’s been incredible to see the impact they have had on seagrass restoration in particular.” 

The project is primarily funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes (ELSP) and East Head Impact. With the ELSP funding allowing for restoration trials to take place on saltmarshes, looking at building up sediment using barriers and covering it in coconut coir. A project in Essex has had success with this, finding saltmarsh species colonising the ‘saltmarsh sausages’, as they call them. 

The Solent supports a rich and diverse species range, including oysters, bass, bream, mullet, flat fish, seahorses, thresher sharks and cuttlefish. A very exciting discovery has been critically endangered European eels living in the oyster nurseries, using the habitat to hide and predate on the crabs and crustations that reside there. 

“The most eels we found in one site was 37, ranging from a few centimetres to up to half a meter,” said Luke. “The biggest one I’ve seen to date was in a seagrass meadow and was over a meter long, ready to migrate to Sargasso.” Eels migrate to spawn there once and then die. The offspring take two or three years to drift back across the Atlantic and adapt to freshwater rivers where they live and mature until they are ready to make their epic migration back to the Sargasso. 

Part of this project is looking at the history surrounding seagrass meadows. They have found that across Europe people used to harvest seagrass to thatch roofs, stuff furniture and even weave baskets out of seagrass. There are also accounts of savannahs of seagrass in the Solent, which is also referred to as ‘eel grass’. 

There is no typical day in this line of work, it is very seasonal and the partners must work around the tides and the weather to get the job done. “One day we could be involved in the extensive monitoring that takes place across the project – using boats, boots, drones and more. The next we can be giving a talk at a conference or meeting with local stakeholders, it is very varied,” said Luke. 

He continued by telling me about shipwreck dives he has been on in the Solent in his personal time and how they are covered in oysters, but very difficult to see. “You have to get your eye in. All you can see is the gills and that little slit when they are feeding,” he explained. “There are lots of exciting plans for the future of this project, including our communications and outreach plan which involves some famous voices, our artist in residence and a suit of films – one of which has been nominated for awards.” 

In terms of the actual restoration, they have recently had some fantastic footage from the Navy who used an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) to collect video footage over the area. “It’s way more colourful than even I expected; all the algal species growing, sponges, lots of oysters, fish swimming around, a massive spider crab – it was amazing,” said Luke. And at the same time seagrass has returned to the River Hamble for the first time in 100 years. 

“When you see the level of diversity these habits can support it is incredible, it makes you see that nature can bounce back,” said Luke. “That’s the major lesson, it isn’t too late. We need to do more of it and we need to do it on a bigger scale, but it’s not too late.” 

www.solentseascape.com

Project partners: Blue Marine Foundation, Chichester Harbour Conservancy, Coastal Partners, Environment Agency, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Isle of Wight Estuaries, Natural England, Project Seagrass, RSPB, University of Portsmouth