An elegant start to the season was a visit by the tall ship, Stavros S Niarchos, in April. News is getting round that the Bar has diminished, so larger vessels can venture in.<\/p>\n
The proposals for the Salcombe Harbour Hotel pontoon have been changed from a high-tech, semi-suspended pontoon to a two-pile fairly standard outfit: but concerns remain around Salcombe\u2019s famous seagrass beds. Plymouth University is surveying seagrass along the south coast and early results suggest Salcombe\u2019s is by far the most extensive. Indeed, whilst seagrass \u2013 formerly known as eelgrass – commonly grows to about 30cms, some near North Sands is over a metre high and is so densely packed that it forms a veritable underwater jungle.<\/p>\n
Seagrass is a curious underwater plant because it flowers. Its importance stems from the fact that it slows down the water, so stabilising the seabed and creating a dense habitat, or eco-system, for all kinds of creatures \u2013 including, in Salcombe\u2019s case, seahorses. English seagrass reserves are thought to be diminishing, but not so in Salcombe. Indeed, a big new bed may have been discovered off Bar Lodge, but this has yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n
Salcombe Harbour Hotel\u2019s pontoon would sit inshore of a long seagrass bed which stretches along the north west shore of the Harbour. Boats using the pontoon would therefore have to pass over the seagrass, potentially causing damage. The hotel has agreed to install a tide gauge and forbid boats to land when the tide is such that there is a risk to the seagrass: but how effective will this be?<\/p>\n
The wider question is how should the Harbour protect its seagrass? In the past, although seagrass is marked on the Admiralty chart by the letters SG, there has been a tendency to be coy about its whereabouts to dissuade people from investigating or interfering with it. The new approach is to advertise and celebrate seagrass: but should there be a code of practice around it?<\/p>\n
One possibility is for boats always to lift their outboard engines whenever they pass over seagrass, regardless of the state of the tide. That would make the beds better known and, one hopes, better respected. Another possibility \u2013 almost a no brainer \u2013 is to discourage anchoring in seagrass. Sadly, that is common off Millbay and, obviously enough, anchors wreck the bed. The code\u2019s strapline could be \u201cdon\u2019t drop your anchor on a seahorse!\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An elegant start to the season was a visit by the tall ship, Stavros S Niarchos, in April. News is getting round that the Bar has diminished, so larger vessels can venture in. The proposals for the Salcombe Harbour Hotel pontoon have been changed from a high-tech, semi-suspended pontoon to a two-pile fairly standard outfit: but concerns remain around Salcombe\u2019s famous seagrass beds. Plymouth University is surveying seagrass along the south coast and early results suggest Salcombe\u2019s is by far…<\/p>\n