More than 430 seagrass shoots came up in the Fowey Estuary

More than 430 seagrass shoots have been found in the Fowey Estuary, after a spring that looked thin. BBC News reported the count on November 8, 2026. Cornwall Wildlife Trust recorded the new growth across 50 patches of seabed during summer surveys. By the end of April only six seedlings had emerged, and there was a real worry the trial might not take.

Chloe James, of the trust, called the shoots hugely encouraging after an uncertain start to the spring. Volunteers collected seed from a donor meadow in Torpoint in autumn 2025 and planted it in the estuary. The seed stayed buried through the winter and began to grow in spring. The work is part of Seeding Change Together, a partnership between the trust and Seasalt Cornwall that began in 2022.

The trust said mainland Britain has lost up to 92 percent of its seagrass meadows over the last century, and it pointed to earlier research that seagrass can capture carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. That rate is from the research the project highlights, not a measurement of this estuary alone. In the Helford Estuary, algal growth appeared to wipe out planted seedlings at one site, though three plants were later found alive and spreading. More seed is due in both estuaries, with further monitoring planned for spring 2027.