The Port of Gothenburg has started replanting 1.7 hectares of eelgrass beds to compensate for the eelgrass that will disappear while the port is building a new terminal. It is the largest replantion of eelgrass ever in Sweden.
Eelgrass acts as protection and as a spawning ground for several fish species. It helps to improve water quality and safeguards beaches against erosion. Eutrophication, overfishing and exploitation in coastal areas have resulted in the disappearance of many eelgrass meadows.
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The Port of Gothenburg is currently growing, expecting a new ro-ro and container terminal. On the site of the new terminal there are currently 1.7 hectares of eelgrass. To ensure eelgrass volumes are maintained in the Gothenburg Archipelago, the Port of Gothenburg will plant the same amount of eelgrass at another location in the vicinity.
Eelgrass test plantings have now commenced in two locations just outside port area. However, planting eelgrass is not easy. The method that produces the best result is both expensive and time-consuming. One shoot at a time is planted by hand. It may be slow, but it works best.
As Edvard Molitor, Environmental Manager at the Gothenburg Port Authority added, “special conditions have been required for the plantings to be carried out, and they must be done in a short window during the early summer, so that the plants will have a chance to settle before the fall.”
