BRIGHT yellow buoys have been dotted across a Dorset coast in a bid to protect an endangered species from being destroyed by mooring.

Buoys are being introduced into Studland Bay to protect seagrass from becoming extinct as a result of mooring.

The buoys are funded by the Ocean Conservation Trust.

Seagrass provides one of the most biodiverse habitats on the planet and is one of the few environments that provides multiple benefits.

Neil Garrick-Maidment, founder and executive director of the Seahorse Trust, and co-founder and associate partner of the Studland Bay Marine Partnership, said: “It’s good to see the seagrass marker buoys going into the water last week at Studland Bay.

“Seagrass and seahorses are legally protected and it is illegal to damage and destroy it, we only have 1 per cent of the seagrass we used to have and it is crucial in the fight against global warming and it protects our beaches and cliffs from erosion.

“This is a massive step forward for the protection of the bay and it means there will be enough eco-moorings to use, the seagrass is marked so if you cannot find an eco-mooring to use, then please anchor outside of the marked area.

“This will hopefully persuade people not to go inside the seagrass area and anchor outside, which would be much better.

“I've been working in Studland since 2008 and I realised it was a problem and I wanted to do something about it, so I did. And now we have this fantastic group that oversees the whole project.

“The Seahorse Trust managed to get the area protected as a marine conservation zone because of the huge seagrass bed in there and spiny seahorses in the area as well.”