European Seagrass Recommendations 2026 - On the future of seagrass restoration in Europe

European Seagrass Recommendations 2026 

European Seagrass Restoration Alliance, February 2026, Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands

A consensus policy document presenting eight science-backed recommendations for the future of seagrass restoration in Europe. Co-authored by 26 practitioners and researchers from 12 European countries and reviewed by a further 26 experts from 15 countries, the document was produced under the European Seagrass Restoration Alliance (ESRA) framework. The recommendations address: protection of existing meadows; stressor reduction prior to active restoration; integrated habitat assessment across historical, current, and future conditions; long-term monitoring for adaptive management; evidence-based and ethical knowledge sharing; human and institutional capacity building; alignment of governance, policy, and financing with scientific evidence; and sustainable donor material supply chains. The document emphasises that restoration must complement — not replace — conservation. Applicable to all four European seagrass species (Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera marina, Zostera noltii) across the North Sea, Atlantic, Baltic, and Mediterranean contexts.

Authors:

Patrick Astruch (France), Lisa Bruil (Netherlands), Anna Cucknell (England), Beatriz Marin-Diaz (Spain), Thomas Fauvel (France), Nicole Foster (Spain), Karine Gagnon (Norway), Pere Giralt (Spain), Laura Govers (Netherlands), Marieke van Katwijk (Netherlands), Richard J. Lilley (Netherlands), Nicolas Mayot (France), Per-Olav Moksnes (Sweden), Fiona Tomas (Spain), Maike Paul (Germany), Riccardo Pieraccini (Belgium), Dimitris Poursanidis (Greece), Katrin Rehlmeyer (Netherlands), Ana I. Sousa (Portugal), Rune Steinfurth (Denmark), Esther Thomsen (Germany), Richard Unsworth (Wales), Maite Vogel (Netherlands), Juan Lugilde Yáñez (Ireland), Emily Yates (Wales) and Lisa Wiatschka (Spain)