Two in one for marine conservation: safe anchoring for protected habitats

This project involves a new automated method to detect the geographical position of recreational boats in their anchoring stage using ESA satellite radar images. Considering that images are available since 2014, we can make use of a vast amount of data regarding recreational boats. Such data have never been exploited before and give us the possibility to quantify the presence and impact of recreational boats on the marine environment. Our goals are: (1) to protect seagrass and other sensitive habitats from harmful anchorages, by identifying the most affected areas and (2) to understand the effectiveness of boating regulations in Marine Protected Areas by comparing boats anchoring before and after laws’ implementation. The activities, planned to be done during 2022, aim to:-Perform a case study on the Swedish west coast. -Contact Swedish authorities and institutes to raise awareness around the issue. -Promote sustainable solutions such as the “eco mooring” and their implementation. -Contact one or more MPAs to find out if their regulations are followed by boaters and, if not, why. -Collaborate with start-ups such as Mooringo AB to have a direct connection with boaters.As seagrass provides several ecosystem services, such as CO2 sequestration and nursery grounds for many valuable marine species, beneficiaries can be individuals such as fisheries stakeholders and MPAs managers as well as entire communities due to enhanced biodiversity and a stronger climate change mitigation.