Jones, Benjamin L.H., Eklöf, Johan S., Unsworth, Richard K.F., Coals, Lucy, Christianen, Marjolijn J.A., Clifton, Julian, Cullen-unsworth, Leanne C., de la Torre-Castro, Maricela, Esteban, Nicole, Huxham, Mark, Jiddawi, Narriman S., McKenzie, Len J., Nakaoka, Masahiro, Nordlund, Lina M., Ooi, Jillian L.S., and Prathep, Anchana (2025) Risks of habitat loss from seaweed cultivation within seagrass. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122 (8). e2426971122.

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Abstract

[Extract] Seagrass meadows are thought to reduce water column marine bacterial pathogens, with new data from Fiorenza et al. suggesting that this function extends to reducing disease in seaweed cultivation by 75%. As a result, Fiorenza et al. advocate scaling seaweed production within seagrass meadows globally, highlighting benefits to local livelihoods. We argue that this is premature and dangerous for marine biodiversity and wider ecosystem functioning across the ~20.7 million km2 of suitable area. Fiorenza et al. do not consider the holistic nature of the problem that they aim to provide solutions for nor the potential for complex unintended consequences.

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