A drive to restore a rare wetland habitat has been dealt a blow after there was vandalism at two trial sites on Tyneside and Wearside.
The project aims to bring back intertidal saltmarsh at Dunston staiths in Gateshead, Hebburn riverside, Jarrow Slake which is fed by the River Don, and Baron’s Quay at North Hylton in Sunderland.
Mudflat and saltmarsh are very rare habitats which were once commonplace on the rivers,but have been lost over years of industrialisation and urbanisation. Saltmarsh stores carbon, improves water quality, is home to specialist plants and provides food and shelter for juvenile fish and birds. It has been recognised as an important factor in preventing coastal erosion and flooding.
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The scheme involves Groundwork North East and Cumbria, Natural England and Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils. The latest development has seen the trialling of a new product - biodegradable 80cms by 50cms lattice panels made from potato starch, which trap sediment and allow plants to gain a foothold and spread.
But the project has been halted at Jarrow Slake and Sunderland after panels were removed and vandalised.
“The lattice installations at Jarrow and North Hylton were part of an innovative, long-term project to restore saltmarsh habitat on the River Wear and the River Don. Unfortunately, the majority of the lattices at both sites have been vandalised,” said a Natural England spokesperson.
“It is disheartening that this vandalism occurred so soon after the installation. The loss of lattices at such a scale has resulted in the trial sites becoming unviable. The damage was reported to Northumbria Police. We are keen to explore wider habitat restoration opportunities with partners in the area.”
The saltmarsh venture at the Prince Consort Road site at Hebburn began in March 2021 with the installation of brushwood barriers to capture and retain sediment. The area of saltmarsh has now doubled, with plant species including salicornia, sea plantain, sea aster, sea purslane and lesser sea-spurrey.
Fish species found include blenny, common and sand goby, and herring. The total carbon stored by the saltmarsh since the brushwood was installed is 2.16 tonnes.
Saltmarsh has been classed as a priority habitat on the Tyne because of its importance for juvenile fish, marine animals such as crabs and sand hoppers and river estuary birds such as redshank. It is part of a wider programme of river estuary restoration responding to the dual climate and biodiversity crisis, and which includes the rivers Wansbeck, Blyth Tyne and Wear.
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