The MSC Foundation and Asociación Vellmarí have launched a major new environmental initiative to restore vital Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows across the Mediterranean.
The three-year Shallow Bays of the Mediterranean program aims to plant between 170,000 and 180,000 Posidonia oceanica plants across approximately 20,000 square metres of degraded seabed while expanding marine education and community participation.
Restoration begins in Ibiza
Running from August 2026 to July 2029, the program will begin in Talamanca Bay, Ibiza, where restoration techniques and education programs will be developed before potentially expanding to Palma de Mallorca and the Barcelona coastline.
The initiative was launched aboard EXPLORA III during the ship’s naming celebrations, where Asociación Vellmarí co-founder Cristina Ozores was named the vessel’s Godmother.
Posidonia oceanica is found only in the Mediterranean and plays a vital role in supporting marine biodiversity, storing blue carbon, stabilising the seabed and protecting coastlines from erosion.
Science, education and community engagement
Alongside habitat restoration, the project will deliver long-term environmental monitoring, citizen science programs and marine education.
Over the next three years, around 6,000 students from more than 30 schools and education centres will participate, alongside approximately 600 volunteers, 28 educators and 24 dive centres.
The broader initiative is expected to engage more than 30,000 people through conservation, education and community activities.
MSC Foundation Executive Director Daniela Picco said the partnership combined scientific expertise with education and community participation to encourage people to become active stewards of the Mediterranean.
Building on successful conservation work
The new project expands the existing partnership between MSC Foundation and Asociación Vellmarí, which began in Formentera in 2024 as part of the Foundation’s wider collaboration with Mission Blue.
During the first two years of that program, more than 78,000 Posidonia oceanica plants were restored across 2,700 square metres of degraded seagrass meadow around Formentera.
