Valeport, has pledged its support to a campaign to protect the vital “underwater rainforest” under threat off Tor Bay, on the southwest coast of the U.K. 

To mark the hydrographic and oceanographic instrument manufacturer’s 50th anniversary, it will partner with a U.K. coastal zoo and aquarium to help protect seagrass, a remarkable plant that flowers underwater and forms dense meadows in shallow coastal areas. These meadows capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests, making them important in combating climate change. Like coral reefs and rainforests, these underwater gardens are full of life. And like those better-known habitats they are under threat, with global estimates suggesting the planet loses an area of seagrass the same size as two football pitches every hour.

Valeport will be supporting the Living Coasts research project #SaveOurSeagrass, helping to secure the project’s future for the next two years and providing instruments and expertise to the program. The research project aims to protect the seagrass meadows in Tor Bay, which is a vital nursery bed for young fish and also home to key species, such as the short-snouted seahorse. These meadows are threatened by pollution and by indiscriminate anchoring, which can unknowingly rip plants from the seabed. Living Coasts is using the research to begin trialing seagrass cultivation, with the aim of helping to replenish the threatened species and contributing to increased marine biodiversity.

For more information, visit www.livingcoasts.org.uk and www.valeport.co.uk.