Taiwanese companies turn to seagrass restoration for environmental health

台灣企業致力於海草復育以促進環境健康

Seagrass beds are vital carbon sinks crucial for global emissions reduction


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Seagrass bed restoration has been one of the actions Taiwanese companies are taking toward environmental protection.

In 2020, the United Nations recognized seagrass ecosystems as part of marine conservation and designated March 1 as World Seagrass Day. To support this initiative, the Fisheries Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture has collaborated with businesses and local communities to restore seagrass beds. It has also assisted the Penghu County Government in establishing seagrass protection areas.

Fisheries Research Institute Director Chang Chin-I (張錦宜) said the institute planted 60 square meters of seagrass off Penghu in 2014, and the area has expanded nearly 50-fold. He added that the agency will partner with Taiwan Yokohama Hakkeijima Inc. this year to promote seagrass education and planting at Xpark.

Last year, CTBC Financial Holding Co. joined forces with the institute to advance a seagrass restoration in the intertidal area of Penghu’s Baisha Township. The collaboration involved planting 1,500 seagrass seedlings, such as paddle weeds and narrowleaf seagrasses, in unused fish ponds, per Business Today.

Taiwan Cooperative Bank in May donated funds to National Sun Yat-sen University to support its marine sustainability efforts. Additionally, the bank collaborated with local communities in Penghu’s Magong City on a project to restore seagrass beds.

Chuang Lao-ta (莊老達), director-general of the resources sustainability department under the agriculture ministry, said that seagrass beds, mangroves, and salt marshes are crucial marine carbon sinks. He noted that seagrass beds have been found along coastlines worldwide, except for Antarctica.

National Chung Hsing University Life Sciences Department Professor Lin Hsing-Juh (林幸助) said that mangroves have 2.5 times the carbon storage capacity of forests, while seagrass beds and salt marshes store approximately 1.5 times that amount.

In Taiwan, salt marsh habitats cover roughly 188 hectares, seagrass beds span about 5,480 hectares, and mangroves occupy around 680 hectares, Lin added. Collectively, these coastal ecosystems are estimated to store approximately 350,000 tonnes of carbon annually.

According to a United Nations Environment Program study, while seagrass covers 0.1% of the ocean floor, it stores as much as 18% of the ocean's carbon. The study also highlighted that seagrass beds provide crucial habitat and food for numerous endangered marine species.

The UN reports that 7% of seagrass habitats are lost globally each year. The area of seagrass worldwide has decreased by nearly 30%, and at least 22 seagrass species have gone extinct.

Seagrass beds in Taiwan are most extensive in Penghu. In the county’s Baisha Township, the seagrass protection area has declined from around 113 hectares to less than 37.5 hectares, a loss of nearly 67%.

Flood control measures have led to the construction of concrete structures along Penghu's coast, removing the sandy areas crucial for seagrass growth. Ocean currents further exacerbate the problem by eroding sand and causing sedimentation that impedes seagrass development in other locations.

Overfishing has diminished large fish populations, resulting in a sharp increase in small herbivorous marine animals that face fewer natural predators, Lin added. The surge in these creatures leads to excessive consumption of seagrass, further weakening already vulnerable seagrass beds.