Eelgrass rooted in treated rope

Eelgrass beds

Restoring eelgrass beds: taking root on treated rope

We use the surface treatment that fights fouling the other way round: rope is treated so that eelgrass can take root on it, with the aim of restoring eelgrass beds. The trial at Kurahashi Island in Kure has been running since December 2023.

For local governments, fishing cooperatives and research institutes

Talk to us about this use

The problem

Eelgrass beds give fish and shellfish a place to live. Where beds have been lost, bringing them back by raising seedlings and having divers plant them on the seabed takes a great deal of labour and time.

Clear shallow water by a pier, with sand and stones on the bottom

What we do

The rope we use has an agent that helps roots take hold fixed to its surface. Laid on the seabed, the rope is meant to catch seeds falling from nearby eelgrass and let them take root, so that divers would not need to plant seedlings. We are also trialling growing eelgrass from seed on the rope in tanks on land.

How the treatment works

Where things stand, and what to know

  • Stage: Concept, We are also considering selling the treated rope as a material.

Stage and evidence

Each claim carries its own stage, and who confirmed it where that is on record.

Restoring eelgrass beds

Rope treated so that eelgrass can take root on it, with the aim of restoring eelgrass beds.

  • Stage: Being tested, Our own work

    The trial at Kurahashi Island has been running since December 2023, and in February 2024 we confirmed germination and root growth on the treated rope. When four conditions were compared on the seabed, the treated rope ranked higher for both coverage and number of shoots (the difference is not yet statistically significant).

Related uses

Talk to us about “Restoring eelgrass beds”
Eelgrass growing from treated rope
  • Setting up the eelgrass trial on the raft
  • Lowering a tray of sand into the sea from the raft
    Kurahashi Island, Kure (December 2023)
  • A raft frame divided into four plots, marked A to D
    Kurahashi Island, Kure (December 2023)

Restoring seagrass and seaweed beds in Nanao Bay (Noto)

An idea for restoring seagrass and seaweed beds in Nanao Bay, Noto, with local fishers.

  • Stage: Concept,

    We are considering a plan for Nanao Bay in Noto in which local fishers use a surface-treated base material. Seedlings would be raised on land and set in the sea to help them take root, and the extent of the beds and the way fish gather there would be measured. We are thinking of a scheme in which local governments, companies and others bear the cost.

Related uses

Talk to us about “Restoring seagrass and seaweed beds in Nanao Bay (Noto)”
A calm sea and a small rocky islet in Noto
Noto (July 2026)
  • The shore in Noto: a hut and a harbour with boats

Ways to work with us

How to read the stages

Stage: Proven,
Results checked at sea or in the field, and on record
Stage: Being tested,
Trials, prototypes or development under way
Stage: Concept,
At the planning stage, including ideas shown as exhibits or prototypes

Content last checked:

Tell us what you would like to try with this use, or what is going wrong.

Talk to us about this use See other uses