Thailand uses 3D-printed shelters to help young seagrass survive

Biodegradable seagrass pod design. Credit: Walailak UniversityMarine scientists in Thailand are placing young seagrass shoots inside 3D-printed bioplastic shelters because strong waves and hungry sea creatures keep destroying new transplants before they can grow roots.The trial is taking place in the waters surrounding Koh Lidi, two small islands inside Mu Ko Phetra National Park in Satun Province. Seagrass meadows in the area are vanishing under heavy environmental pressure. That loss has hit local fishing communities that rely on the meadows as a nursery for shrimp, crabs and fish. It has also devastated Thailand's declining dugong population, which depends on seagrass as its main food source. Unprecedented numbers of dugongs have washed up dead along the Andaman Coast in recent years.Sh