Scientists are calling for a major shift in marine conservation strategy, warning that fragmented restoration efforts are failing to meet climate and biodiversity goals.
A new study, published in NPI Ocean Sustainability and launched at the International Seascape Symposium II at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), presents the most comprehensive evidence to date on the importance of restoring entire seascapes.
Led by the University of Portsmouth with contributions from ZSL and the University of Edinburgh, the research shows that coastal habitats—like oyster reefs, kelp forests, saltmarshes and seagrass meadows—function as interconnected systems rather than isolated features.
This ecological connectivity is crucial to achieving international climate and biodiversity targets.
“Coastal habitats like oyster reefs, saltmarshes, kelp forests and seagrass meadows are often treated as separate entities in policy and restoration, but in reality, they are tightly bound together by the flows of water, life and energy,” said lead author Professor Joanne Preston of the University of Portsmouth.
“To meet our global climate and biodiversity targets, we need to restore the entire seascape.”
The study highlights how co-located habitats support each other. In California, seagrass grows more robustly near oyster reefs.
In New Zealand, kelp-derived carbon boosts fish populations, while oyster beds in Chesapeake Bay significantly improve water clarity and nutrient removal.
Alison Debney, Estuaries and Wetlands Programme Lead at ZSL added: ““Connected habitats are more productive, more resilient and more beneficial to people.
“Restoring isolated patches isn’t enough. We need to think like the sea – fluid, linked, dynamic – and we need to act at scale.”
The report calls for a formal definition of “seascape restoration” as the restoration of multiple habitats to rebuild connected, resilient ecosystems.
The findings arrive as the UK faces sharp declines in marine ecosystems, having lost up to 95 per cent of oyster reefs and 90 per cent of seagrasses.
The researchers say restoring ecological links is now essential to reversing biodiversity loss, improving fish stocks and enhancing coastal protection.
Recommendations include updating marine protected area frameworks, revising environmental assessments and integrating restoration goals across land-sea boundaries.
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