Seagrass meadows support diverse marine communities and serve as nursery habitat for fish species, with restoration projects improving welfare for countless marine animals.
Seagrass restoration is a marine welfare intervention: fish that use seagrass nurseries have better survival rates through vulnerable juvenile phases; seahorses that require seagrass structure for holding on in currents lose essential habitat without it; dugongs and sea turtles that graze seagrass face nutritional stress when meadows disappear. The welfare cascade from seagrass loss extends through the food web, affecting the welfare of many species simultaneously. Restoration creates habitat that directly benefits individual animal welfare.