These Maerl deposits (known as ‘beds’) provide a home for lots of other marine organisms. They are so important that the Scottish Government has designated the Wyre and Rousay Sounds as a ‘Marine Protected Area’. In a recent audit of Orkney’s ‘blue carbon’ habitats the Maerl bed was surveyed and found to be at least 1.2m deep. All of this Maerl is locking away, or storing atmospheric carbon (so called ‘blue carbon’) helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Maerl beds are vulnerable to seabed disturbance so dredges and trawlers aren’t allowed to operate here.
Underwater photography © Alastair Skene
