PEOPLE with an interest in the mysteries of the deep will have a chance to have a closer look from dry land this week.
The Community Seagrass Initiative (CSI) will be holding a Quayside Explorer session in Weymouth on Friday between 11am and 3pm.
The event will take place at Weymouth Pleasure Pier, close to the Sealife Tower.
It’s part of a series of sessions being held across the south coast throughout the summer.
Seagrass is one of the world’s only marine flowering plants, which creates large meadows in shallow waters on sandy seabed.
Seagrass meadows are home to species such as seahorses and cuttlefish, and act as a nursery ground for commercial fish species.
Using an underwater robot, the sessions will allow members of the public to view underwater seagrass habitats, which are normally hidden from public view.
High definition footage will be streamed live from a camera mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to a video screen back on land.
The ROV will fly over an area of seagrass close to the pier and the entrance to Weymouth Harbour, beaming the live footage back to a screen in the marquee.
Jessica Mead, CSI project officer for Weymouth, will interpret the images streamed back for the audience.
She said: “Our Quayside Explorer sessions provide an exciting opportunity for members of the public to discover and explore a very special marine habitat.
“Although seagrass beds grow in shallow sheltered waters, close to the shore they are normally inaccessible to most people.
"We hope that these sessions will give people an insight into this fragile habitat and engage local residents and visitors with Community Seagrass Initiative, and what the project is doing to help conserve it.
“Seagrass beds are home to lots of rare and charismatic animals including seahorses, undulate rays and stalked jellyfish, as well as important commercial fish that many people’s livelihoods depend on. Over the next three years, with the help of our team of volunteers, we are aiming to collect some vital information about the seagrass beds along our coastline to work towards better protection for this amazing eco-system."
The Community Seagrass Initiative will be back in Weymouth on August 10 and 11 and again on September 5 and 6.
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